Floral Arrangements
by Kiramizu
Summary: Flowers have a wonderful symbolic language. If you could learn the language of flowers, how would you use it? To make a friend or a lover? Cam X Lillian
1. Vinnia

**This is my new Cam x Lillian story. I thought man I like being married to Cam, he's so sweet. But apparently in the JP Version he's very cold, but in the US Version he's just very shy. I wanted to make a cute little story using the language of flowers to show how they turn from friends into lovers.**

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_Floral Arrangements_

"_Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes." __— Clare Ansberry_

_Vinnia- Thoughts about friends_

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His confused spring green eyes met her violet frightened ones. He had no idea of what he had done to strike such fear in that girl's heart— especially since he never met her before. If he moved slightly she would wince, if he tried to speak she would whimper and if he moved forward she would take ten steps back. Of course he was exaggerating but the fear was pretty visible.

He noticed in her hands was a small Chamomile flower. He looked at the Chamomile and smiled, how symbolic was it for her to hold that in her delicate hands.

_Patience; that was what Chamomile meant and that was what he needed to have._

Although it was against his nature to worry about people or particularly care in general, something about that girl had intrigued him deeply. Something deep in his gut told him to just wait for her. He took a seat in the grass in front of the river and continued on with making his bouquet.

She was aware that her body went cold with fear when she spotted the blond man only five feet away from her. But now she was completely confused with his sudden choice of actions. She expected him to do something… but more in the nature of violence. She watched him, suddenly feeling her body soften and her guard more relaxed. Surely a man who took such gentle care of his flowers couldn't be that bad of a character.

"Um… My name is Lillian and I am the new farmer over in Konohana village." She said hesitantly.

The young man stared over at Lillian in surprise. Had she actually just spoken to him — when she had been so terrified of him? He noted to himself that her voice was very calming and kind of cute.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Cam and I'm the florist of Bluebell Town." He smiled at her gently.

She walked — slowly but surely— towards him and stopped next to his seated body. He smelled like a fresh garden, a scent that she had grown to like over her past few days on the farm. It was fragrant like flowers —not quite like the vegetables she grew— but a very welcome scent.

"It is nice to meet you as well." She said sweetly. "What kind of bouquet are you making?"

He looked up at her and felt himself smile at the inquisitive look on her face.

"A red bouquet, made with Gerbera, Nadeshiko and Red Rose."

He could tell from the look on her face that she was absolutely confused by his response. He held up a Gerbera and Nadeshiko for her to take. She took the flowers, hesitantly, before sniffing lightly and looking at them carefully. He admired the way she handled the flowers with care.

"Do you know about the language of flowers, Lillian?" Cam asked her.

She shook her head slightly; the language of flowers? What did that even mean?

"Each flower has a specific meaning and symbolic presence. Like how a Red Rose is always associated with love, all flowers have something like that."

She nodded with interest. She understood completely and was intrigued by Cam's extensive knowledge of flowers.

"Gerberas convey cheerfulness and Nadeshikos are a variant of the Carnation, which are pink which mean the love of a woman or mother."

"Colors matter as well?" Lillian asked before taking a seat next to Cam.

Cam was a little startled by her sudden openness but he wasn't discomforted — which was unusual as he usually didn't like to get too close with people— he actually enjoyed her presence immensely.

"Yes colors matter as well. Each flower's colored variant holds a separate meaning— such as how the red rose refers to passionate love, the lavender colored rose actually refers to love at first sight."

Lillian let out a slight 'ah' in understanding. "Cam it's very impressive and admirable… your love and knowledge for flowers I mean."

Cam thanked Lillian sincerely. He was glad she enjoyed the conversation, as many others would feign interest or get bored quickly.

"Is the rest of Bluebell more like you?" She asked quietly.

She noticed the confused look that graced Cam's features. Mistaking it for offense she quickly added extra to her previous question. "I mean friendly and interesting… I mean well I heard terrifying things about the town…" She trailed off.

He frowned in confusion before he finally understood what happened. "Lillian, despite what you've heard, this silly little dispute has always been between the mayors. None of the villagers echo their sentiments."

She nodded and blushed deeply. And here she had been expecting an angry mob to chase her up the mountain or angry and rude responses from the other villagers. She felt completely embarrassed.

"I don't blame you for initially being afraid of me then, after all the mayors like to instill hatred in newcomers for the other village. Mayor Rutger tried to do the same thing to me when I first moved into Bluebell…" He blushed slightly. "When I was a child I cried when I came in contact with Mayor Ina when she was younger. That was only once but it shows how far they take the rivalry."

Lillian couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of a little Cam crying from meeting Ina. Cam hid his face a little and looked down at his bouquet. He was glad that he made her a little more comfortable.

"Oh Cam, there you are, Howard's been looking…" A young man the same age as Cam entered the clearing.

Lillian unconsciously scooted closer to Cam out of habit. Cam slightly chuckled at Lillian's sudden revert back to fear.

"Hi my name's Ash; I'm Cam's best buddy. What's your name?"

Lillian looked at Ash shyly. "My name's Lillian, I moved to Konohana village a few days ago and I started the new farm."

"Oh, you're the new farmer that owns both farmlands in Bluebell and Konohana. It's nice to meet you!" Ash said. "My mom owns the ranch that raises livestock, she'll be happy to meet you."

Lillian moved from behind Cam and felt comfortable again. "That's nice… that was actually what I was on my way to Bluebell for. But I met Cam and we started to talk about flowers."

"Oh so you're into flowers too?"

Lillian shook her head. "No Cam was teaching me about flowers, but that did get me pretty interested."

Ash laughed merrily. "I'm happy that you made friends with Cam, he's actually very shy."

Cam glared at Ash, who in response just continued laugh. Lillian suddenly infected by Ash's jolly mood started to laugh with him. Cam wasn't sure how to really react, he was glad that Lillian had considered him a friend so quickly, since her first impression of him was kind of shaky.

Cam stood up with his finished bouquet in hand and offered his free hand to Lillian. Lillian looked up at him and took his hand softly. Her hands were extremely soft and smooth, for someone who started to farm. He pulled her up and let go of her hand before turning back to Ash.

"What did Howard want?"

Ash was distracted and staring in the direction of Lillian who was picking up a walnut off the ground; Cam shook his head at Ash. How obvious could his friend be at that moment?

"Hey Ash, what did Howard want?" He repeated.

"Oh… um he wanted you to come home was all he said." Ash blushed slightly.

Cam nodded before turning back to Lillian… who wasn't behind him anymore. But rather she was in the river… hand- fishing.

"Lillian what are you doing?" He asked as he watched her grab a Smelt with no problem.

"Oh I like to hand- fish because it brings in money and extra cooking ingredients." She smiled.

Cam laughed at her reason. He really found her quite endearing, kind of like when you meet a new friend for the first time and keep finding out tidbits about them. Lillian packed up the fish she caught and put them in her rucksack.

The three of them walked in union towards Bluebell Town. Cam, Ash and Lillian had talked about various things while walking. They were delighted to hear more about Lillian's background. They found out she had an older brother name Phillip who was helping out her family's farm in a different town. She got into a really scary accident on her way to the village and she chose to move to Konohana first because it was like her old hometown.

"Wow Lillian, you're only 18 and you still wanted to move?" Ash asked.

"Yes, I wanted to become more independent. Although it was pretty tough the first few days I decided to hold on and keep working!" She added cheerfully.

Cam admired Lillian's courage. He never really tried to leave Bluebell except for when he was traveling and studying flower arrangements, but it wasn't permanent, he had always intended to go back.

"Well here's our ranch, it's named after my mom we don't have a fancy name like your farm." Ash joked.

"Shiro is not a fancy name; I just took the name of my favorite cartoon character and shortened it." She pretended to be insulted.

"Well I better get back to the café, come stop by after you're done Lillian." Cam suggested before he ran off.

Lillian waved to Cam and walked into Jessica's ranch.

"Welcome!" Two very cheery voices greeted.

"Big brother you're back! I missed you!" A little blob flung itself at Ash.

Lillian walked up to the older woman and introduced herself, slight worry at the back of her mind, before waiting for her response.

"Well aren't you just cute, Lillian? My name is Jessica and I'm the mother of that silly boy." Jessica laughed. "Now Lillian I have one question?"

Lillian smiled. "What is that?"

"I don't normally ask this but since you're from Konohana, I have to ask… Are you here to actually shop or spy?"

Lillian's face turned as white as a glass of milk. Jessica didn't trust her, which meant she wouldn't believe her anyway. She guessed that not everyone was okay with Konohana in this town.

"Hahaha I'm kidding dear." Jessica joked. "I wouldn't dear suspect you of that, you look too sweet."

Lillian relaxed visibly. "Of course it's always the ones you least expect."

Lillian froze back up. She knew Jessica was joking again but it still scared her mercilessly.

"Mom, would you stop scaring Lillian?" Ash suddenly interjected.

"I was just having a little fun." Jessica laughed. "What would you like dear?"

"Um I wanted to buy a cow and a chick." Lillian stated.

"Okay I'll just ring you up and I'll have Ash deliver the animals to you by the end of the day." Jessica smiled.

"Thank you very much!"

Lillian looked over at Ash who still had his sister attached to him. She was very cute; blonde pigtails tied with ribbons, clear blue eyes and a cute green dress with a well made vest.

"Hi my name's Cheryl, nice to meet you, I'm Ash's little sister. Let's be friends!"

Lillian smiled at Cheryl. "Hi Cheryl I hope we'll be good friends."

Lillian looked at her watch and noticed it was still kind of early; she wanted to look around Bluebell a bit more and meet some of the other villagers. She might even bump into Rutger again, he was a very nice man, but she did like Ina more because Ina reminded her of her mom.

"Well I should get going, I'd love to walk around and meet the others in the town." Lillian said.

"Wait Lillian, I'll show you around."

Ash cheerfully ran up to Lillian about to walk out of the doors with her until Jessica's stern voice cut through him.

"Not so fast young man, you still have work to do. I let you take a break earlier but you will not slack off now."

"Aw but mom, Lillian…"

Lillian smiled at Ash. "It's okay, you have responsibilities as a rancher to help the animals and I wouldn't like it if you ignored the animals just to show me around."

"See Ash, you could learn a thing or two from Lillian. Besides you get to deliver the animals to her barn back in Konohana, so you have the whole evening to speak to her."

Ash reluctantly walked back towards the counter and waved good-bye to Lillian.

Lillian chuckled before waving good- bye and walking out of the shop. As she left the shop she noticed Cam was standing in front of the shop.

"Oh Cam, I was just going to visit you… But I wanted to look around Bluebell more." She smiled. "It's so much different from Konohana, it's very refreshing."

Cam smiled at Lillian. "Ah I've always wanted to go to Konohana one of these days; maybe you'll… give me a tour." He said shyly.

"Why of course I would, you're my friend." Lillian smiled. "By the way you wouldn't mind introducing me to the others would you?"

Cam almost rejected the idea. Not because he didn't want to hang out with Lillian —quite the opposite actually— but he was very shy, so speaking to the others actually wasn't his favorite thing to do.

"Um yeah, I don't mind doing that." Cam answered.

Lillian cheered happily before running off with Cam in various directions of the town. She took in the sights and noticed that almost everyone raised some sort of animal. She walked into a little hut and noticed two very familiar faces.

"Are you two Raul's twin brothers? He talks a lot about you two." Lillian smiled.

The two short men faced Lillian and greeted her very differently.

The one dressed in purple behind the counter flirted with her shamelessly. "Why hello, my name is Diego and I'm the oldest of the triplets." He smiled charmingly.

The other one dressed in blue waved excitedly. "I'm Enrique the youngest and the cutest of the brothers!"

Lillian giggled before introducing herself to the men. They told her it was nice to meet her and to come back whenever she wanted. Cam then showed her towards the animal shop.

"Oh hullo Cam, I can't say I'm used to seeing you here, what's the occasion?" A round man with red hair laughed merrily.

"Oh… um I, this is my friend Lillian, she wanted to meet the villagers." Cam said as he signaled to Lillian.

"Hi, my name is Lillian and I'm the new farmer over at Konohana." She smiled.

The man laughed happily. "Nice to meet you, my name's Grady and I'm the owner of the animal shop. If you ever need a horse or pet you're welcome here!"

Lillian nodded. "Thank you, you know there's an animal shop back in Konohana. He's a really dedicated guy, I like him a lot!"

Cam listened to Lillian speak. He didn't know that Konohana had similar stores to them. He watched as a young redheaded girl walked into the store.

"… His name is Kana, he's really cool." Lillian finished.

"KANA! That lily- livered no good show- off! I reckon someone needs to teach him a good lesson!"

Lillian jumped at the sound of the other girl's voice. She unconsciously stood back by Cam, who laughed at her reaction. Lillian glared at Cam before stepping from next to him and looking over at the young woman.

She had curly red hair and pretty hazel eyes. She smiled apologetically towards Lillian.

"I'm sorry I scared ya, it's jus' that Kana fella, he jus' makes me so mad!" the girl explained. "He always brags about how much care he gives his horses and I am jus' as gentle with my horses if not better than 'im."

"Oh, is that so, Kana never mentioned you to me at all." Lillian said. "But it's obvious you both love horses immensely!"

The girl smiled at Lillian. "Oh 'scuse me where are my manners. My name is Georgia; I'm the daughter of the shop owner. It's nice to see you've made a friend in Cam over here."

Lillian smiled at Cam. "Yes he was very nice to me! He knows so much about flowers, it's so impressive!"

Georgia looked over at Cam and smiled. "Well isn't that nice, you're breaking out of your shell ain't ya Cam?"

Cam said nothing and he looked away as Lillian continued to chat with Georgia and Grady. Cam was very shy but he just wasn't good at expressing himself or engaging in conversation. He couldn't tell good jokes, he wasn't cheerful and outgoing like his family and he couldn't just start up conversations like Ash.

"Well it was nice meeting you two; I hope to see you guys soon!" Lillian waved while walking back with Cam to the door.

Cam and Lillian walked together calmly talking about miscellaneous things until Lillian suddenly walked faster towards the Town Hall.

"Mayor Rutger!"

An older man most likely in his sixties stared turned around toward the voice. His blue eyes sparkled and his cheeks slowly rose as a smile made its way on his face.

"Lillian! What a pleasant surprise, I wondered when you would have paid a visit." The mayor smiled.

Lillian shared some of her experiences with Rutger and the more she spoke highly of Konohana, Rutger seemed a bit irritated and Cam seemed more intrigued in going to Konohana.

"Well it has been quite a pleasure talking to you Lillian; hopefully our next conversation will be about your new living arrangements."

Rutger cheerfully told Lillian goodbye before walking back into the Town Hall.

"Oh I'm hungry… Cam are you hungry?"

Cam shook his head but he told Lillian to come back home with him. Lillian nodded remembering that Cam lived in the café.

Lillian couldn't help but to stop outside the café and noticed the lovely floral smell that danced in the air. She spotted the flowerbeds and the small stand that had many flowers behind them.

"Cam is that your stand? It's absolutely lovely!"

Cam smiled at Lillian and thanked her for the compliment. The moment was ruined when Lillian's stomach growled loudly demanding attention. Cam took Lillian's hand and led her into the café with a laugh. He let go of her hand as soon as they entered the café and two people greeted the two of them cheerfully.

"Oh you must be Lillian, Cam mentioned you." A pretty blonde walked up to Lillian and grabbed her hands.

"It's so nice to finally meet you! My name is Laney!" The girl introduced herself. "My dad runs the café; he's only the best cook ever."

Lillian smiled. "Oh back in Konohana there's a tea shop and the owner's name is Yun. She also has the title as the best."

"Oh my, who is this adorable little thing standing in my café!" An effeminate high pitched voice called out.

Lillian looked up and came face to face with a very large man who had curly blond hair, small cheerful eyes and… ruby red lips?

"My name is Howard and I run this café."

Howard scooped Laney and Lillian into a big hug, picking both girls off the floor with ease. Laney complained and told her dad that the hug was a bit much, but Lillian hadn't mind at all, enjoying the extreme hug.

"Are you the amazing girl that Cam just seemed to go on about? I can see why, you're such a cutie!"

"Howard cut it out." Cam coughed trying to hide the pink in his cheeks.

Howard laughed before setting the girls down. "Are you a fan of sweets, Lillian?"

Lillian's ears perked at the mention of sweets. "I absolutely love a good dessert with tea!"

"Oh so you like tea?" Cam suddenly asked.

Lillian nodded happily. Cam went towards the back of the café and into a room. Howard set up one of the other tables and placed three plates of cheesecake on the table and Laney set down four cups of tea on the table.

Cam came back with a can in his hand. He placed the can in front of Lillian and smiled.

"Think of it as a late homecoming gift."

Lillian smiled at the golden tea can in her hand and put it in her rucksack. "Thank you Cam."

They all sat and conversed about different things and Lillian found out a lot about Cam. She learned that he actually disliked sweets and liked savory foods. She looked at her watch and noticed it was already 5 p.m. She excused herself and waved goodbye, promising to come back soon.

She spotted Ash loading the animals onto a transport carriage and called out to him. Ash returned the call and told her to hop on. She sat on the front of the carriage next to Ash and then he signaled the horses to move. All the way up the mountain and into Konohana, Ash and Lillian talked about interesting topics.

They reached her farm quickly, much to Ash's reluctance. She went into her house and looked over in the far corner and spotted her vase. Inside was an elegant looking flower that was a deep purple. She had gotten the flower from Reina, when the botanist spotted her staring longingly at the flower. Lillian didn't know the meaning of the flower but she felt that Cam would probably understand what she'd meant by giving it to him.

She ran out her house and caught Ash walking out of the small barn. She presented the flower to him and asked that he give it to Cam for her. Ash nodded with a promise that Cam would get the flower safely.

She smiled and wished Ash a safe journey before walking in her barn to greet her new friends, Cream and Omelet.

Back in Bluebell, Cam decided to walk over to the flowerbeds and tend to the flowers. He heard the patter of hooves coming close to him and looked up. Ash stood in front of him with his infectious smile and handed him a small purple flower. Ash winked before walking off.

"It's from Lillian, she says she doesn't know what the flower means but she hopes it's friendly."

Cam looked down at the flower with a smile. It was a nice gesture and it made him happy to know he had made an intriguing new friend.

_Vinnia the flower that means "thoughts about friends."_

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**Well this is the first chapter of Floral Arrangements. I wanted a flower that vaguely referred to new friendships. So the Vinnia made sense because it means thoughts of friends which could mean new friends, old friends or thinking about making a new friend. This is no joke but when I started the game I avoided Bluebell until Spring 4 because I was afraid they might have actually angry mobbed me out of the village. I mean did you see how Rutger and Ina interacted; That would scare any person away from the other village!**

**Well thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	2. Sweet Pea

**So t****his my friends is Floral Arrangements chapter 2. I gotta say I do like the flow of this story, not to mention every time I write a new story I feel like I'm getting better immensely. I'm probably not gonna update this again this quickly until I fully find every flower for each chapter but until then... Why not just read this lovely chapter!**_  
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_Floral Arrangements_

"_The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind. But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction_." — _Chanakya_

_Sweet Pea- Delicate pleasure and bliss_

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Lillian woke up and stared blankly at the small clock on the nightstand next to her bed; it was 6 in the morning on the dot.

She blinked slowly and brought up a hand to rub her misty eyes. She yawned and stretched before hopping slowly out of her bed. Her dog, Pochi and her cat, Tama walked over to her bed shyly and greeted her for the morning. She smiled down at her pets and patted them on the head gently before going into the small bathroom to prepare for the day.

She had made a bit more extra money thanks to Omelet who grew up pretty fast. However, Cream was still a calf, so it would be a while before she could get milk from her cow. She finished her shower and quickly put on her clothes. She was about to walk outside of her door until she heard small and quiet knocking.

Lillian wondered who could possibly be knocking on the door at that moment. She opened the door and looked on curiously at the visitor.

_It was Cam! _

"Good Morning Cam! What a pleasant surprise!" She smiled widely.

Cam showed her a small smile. He gave her a small plate and she looked down at it; it was a small chocolate pudding. She looked up at him, confusion graced her face.

"In Bluebell, we celebrate this holiday called Spring Harmony day… You share a chocolate dessert with a friend." He smiled shyly. "The only other person I've given a present to was Laney so I wasn't sure on how I should have given it to you."

Lillian smiled. "Wait! I have nothing to give you back for the trouble."

Cam shook his head and sighed. "I knew you would say something like that. It wasn't any trouble at all Lillian; besides the day to give a guy chocolate isn't until the winter."

"And the holiday was on the 14th; today's the 29th so I'm 15 days late with your present."

"Why so late?" Lillian asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Well I wasn't sure if you would have wanted it because it's sort of a Bluebell custom." Cam explained.

Lillian smiled. "Well I like it… We don't have anything like that here in Konohana but here's something you might like! I got it from the Flower Viewing Festival."

Lillian ran into her house and pulled out something from her storage. She was glad it was still pretty fresh. She walked back over to Cam and handed him a platter of sushi. He looked down at the food and smiled.

"Thank you. I really like this a lot."

Lillian smiled back at him before she asked why he visited so early. He looked at her and then turned around to face her fully grown potatoes, turnips, cucumbers.

"I actually came to get a tour of Konohana. Now would be as good a time as any since the Cooking Festivals are finally finished." Cam smiled back at Lillian. "It's always so tense around that time."

Lillian agreed with Cam. She learned that the whole reason that the two villages fought was because of the four cooking festivals that occurred each month. The rivalry goes back to about fifty years ago.

Lillian walked over to her field and Cam followed behind her as she picked all the vegetables that were fully grown. Cam looked around her farm and noted how proper everything looked. He watched Lillian pull up some potatoes and unconsciously smiled at the sight. She worked pretty hard every day and still made sure to visit him over in Bluebell. She was a very good friend and he was thankful that he met her.

"Phew, I finished harvesting Cam. Let's do the tour now!" Lillian cheered energetically. "But first I'd love to ask if you could help me move all these vegetables to the shipping bin!"

Cam said nothing as he walked over and picked up both baskets of cucumbers and turnips. Lillian started to worry. "Cam that's a lot of veggies, don't go through all that trouble to pick up all of that!"

Cam just smiled back at Lillian. "I'm fine Lillian, this is actually pretty light compared to the shipments of ingredients Howard makes me fetch."

Lillian calmed down and smiled at Cam before walking ahead of him towards the village intersection. She walked all the way to the end stopping in front of the giant red box. Cam opened the top and tossed in all the turnips and cucumbers as Lillian tossed in the potatoes.

Lillian grabbed the baskets from Cam and placed them in front of the shipping bin. She turned and faced the large opening that led to the tunnel. Lillian looked at the tunnel with a sad look in her eyes. Cam walked up next to her and seemed to pick up on the sudden change in Lillian's mood.

"Isn't it really sad Cam? I mean, we all could be such good friends… But because of the rivalry, no one wants to try to take care of the cave- in and reconnect the villages."

Cam nodded— he agreed with Lillian on the fact that he could have met her a bit sooner if the tunnel wasn't closed— he looked around Konohana and was taken in by the scenery. There were crops everywhere; nearly every house owned some kind of field.

He noted the wonderful amount of plants and flowers that grew in Konohana, all so different compared to Bluebell; it was such a refreshing sight to see.

"Why if it isn't young Cam." A voice called out.

Cam knew that voice all too well. He looked over to see Mayor Ina walking up to them with a young boy in tow. The woman commanded attention with her strong dark eyes and signature scowl. She smiled and greeted him with genuine joy.

"Considering moving to the better village?" She asked.

Lillian turned around. "Why I'm showing Cam around, I promised him a tour of the village a while ago."

Ina looked over at Cam and then at Lillian and a small smile graced her face. The younger boy stared at Ina quizzically, questioning her behavior.

"Cam this is Rahi, Ina's son. He's very mature and friendly, takes after his mom a lot."

Rahi blushed slightly from Lillian's compliments. He looked down at the ground, but everyone could see the pleased smile on his young face.

"Are you two going for an early morning walk together?" Lillian asked.

Ina nodded. Rahi looked up and over at Cam with slight disdain. "Are you walking with this guy?"

Cam looked at Rahi and could feel dislike aimed at him. Ina smacked Rahi upside the head.

"No need to show such disrespect to a visitor Rahi, you know better than that."

Rahi grabbed the back of his head and apologized to Cam; Cam still saw in Rahi's little dark eyes that he still didn't like him. Rahi waved good-bye to Lillian before walking off with his mother.

Lillian grabbed Cam's arm and dragged him over to the animal shop. Cam couldn't help but feel as if something like this happened before. She opened the door and called out a greeting.

A very tall man with a muscular body walked out from the back. He had long brown hair put in a simple ponytail and a surprisingly feminine face despite his masculine presence. He also sported two tribal looking tattoos on his biceps.

"Kana, I want you to meet Cam, he's the one from Bluebell I talk about!" Lillian smiled.

Kana walked closer to Cam and he almost towered over him. Cam wouldn't admit it out loud, but the man slightly intimidated him. Kana smiled and patted Cam on the shoulder before looking over at Lillian.

"So you're the prince charming Lillian just goes on and on about." Kana teased.

Lillian turned red in the face from both embarrassment and exasperation. "I do not go on and on about Cam! Stop lying Kana or I won't bring material for Hayate's fence anymore!"

Kana stopped laughing. "Okay okay, just don't threaten Hayate; she's done nothing to you."

Lillian giggled. "You know I'd never punish your horse."

Cam turned around to Lillian. "This place has the same feeling back at Georgia's…"

"GEORGIA! Dude no way, my shop has way more background and experience with horses. Georgia is a total beginner she wouldn't know the difference between a pony and a steed."

Cam shook his head. Those two were so alike that they didn't even understand it.

Lillian laughed at Kana's reaction, before telling him good- bye and leaving Kana to set up his shop. Cam waved to Kana who told him to come back anytime.

"Aren't the two of them so similar?" Lillian asked Cam.

Cam nodded as the two of them walked into the village square. Cam looked around and noted the amount of fields he saw, even spotting an orchid at the far back of the village. Lillian smiled before grabbing Cam's hand once more.

"I want you to meet Mako and Reina, they both specialize in plants, and I thought you'd like to meet them!"

Cam noticed they were getting closer to the orchard he spotted a while ago. Lillian walked into the orchard and Cam noticed a large man with an eye-patch and a ponytail. He wondered why every man in Konohana seemed so intimidating and tough.

"If it isn't young Lillian, what is your purpose for visiting me today?"

"Mako, this is Cam, he is the florist in Bluebell, and I wanted him to see your orchard."

Mako cast a brief glance upon him and then went back to tending his trees. Cam spotted coffee trees and cherry trees. He could tell from the petals of the blossoms that they were high- quality products. He smiled; glad to know that the man took so much great care of his trees.

Lillian excused Mako's peculiar behavior and explained that he is not a man of many words. Cam understood completely and did not hold it against the large man. Lillian walked into the house adjacent to the orchard. Cam followed her and looked around — it was a plain house.

"Good morning, Reina." Lillian called out cheerfully. "I've brought a friend!"

Cam looked at who Lillian spoke to. It was a young woman who sat with a dazed look in her green eyes. Her hair was tied back in two braids and she gave no acknowledgement towards Lillian or Cam. Cam looked around the house and admired the amount of plants and flowers in the room. There were colorful ones, exotic ones and local plants all set up around the place.

"Reina, wake up." Lillian cooed.

Reina shook her head and looked around. She blushed and smiled apologetically towards Lillian. "Sorry Lillian, are you here to ask about flowers again?"

"No silly, I came to introduce you to Cam, Bluebell's expert florist!" Lillian pointed at Cam.

Cam stopped examining the plants and turned around at the mentioning of his name. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and politely introduced himself. Reina stared at him with a cold look in her eyes and he had no response towards that.

Had she not liked him because he was from Bluebell? If so that would have been a shame.

"Reina I think you're making him uncomfortable." Lillian said.

Reina looked back at Lillian. "Why? I'm just observing him."

Lillian shook her head. Reina still hadn't understood that she looked very intimidating to newcomers when she just stared at them blankly like she usually did. Reina had done the same thing to her when she came in their home for the first time. Reina had said to Lillian that she preferred the company of plants to people so in that sense she was very awkward with conversational and social skills.

"Excuse me if my staring is making you uncomfortable. I don't do very well in social situations."

Cam nodded. "I'm not exactly a social butterfly myself, so no problem."

Reina nodded with a serious face. "As you are a florist would you like to come up to my room? I have many specimens you may like to see."

Cam nodded and looked over at Lillian who decided to walk with him up to Reina's room. Cam felt a bit more at ease knowing that Lillian was coming with him. When they reached Reina's room Cam was absolutely taken aback. He had never seen so many plants held in one room like that. It was as impressive as literally having an indoor greenhouse.

"Wow…" Cam breathed out.

"Reina study abroad in the field of botany, she knows almost all there is to know in the area of plants." Lillian explained.

Reina explained to Cam about the different species of plants in her room. Cam engaged in conversation with Reina, smiling all the while. Lillian watched Cam from the back as she sat on one of the cushions by the table. She watched as he smiled and she unconsciously smiled as well. That was the first time she had ever seen Cam genuinely smile in the presence of a new person. He was usually very stiff and it always worried her, but slowly he was loosening up.

"Are you ready to go Lillian?" Cam asked her.

Lillian woke up out of her stupor and nodded. Cam wondered for a second why she had been watching him with such a confusing look in her eyes. It looked like worry but then it changed to happiness. He left it to the idea that she had been daydreaming and walked down the stairs with her. Reina waved to them before she walked back to her plants and wrote something down.

Cam had met the other villagers like Sheng, a panda obsessed blacksmith, Gonbe, the mischievous owner of the seed shop, Nori, his granddaughter, Raul, the middle brother of Enrique and Diego, Ayame, the quirky doctor, and Hiro, her klutzy assistant. By the end of the tour Lillian ended up taking Cam into a tea house.

"Welcome to Yun's tea house — oh!" A little girl ran up to Cam before suddenly backing up.

Cam looked down at the little girl, a bit frightened by her sudden reaction. When Lillian walked in, the little girl calmed down and walked over to Lillian.

"Hello Lillian, I was waiting for you!" She let out a large smile.

Lillian smiled back and patted the little girl on the head. Cam noticed that Lillian was very good with kids— something he personally wasn't that great at. Lillian looked up at Cam and introduced the two.

"Cam this is Ying, the granddaughter of the owner of this shop. You should kind of already know Yun." Lillian smiled.

Cam couldn't forget the name of that woman. She had led Konohana to victory in nearly every cooking festival so far, even close calling with Howard countless times. But she wasn't disliked in Bluebell, but rather admired for her amazing culinary skills.

"Hello… my name is Ying… you're from Bluebell, right?" She held tightly on to her stuffed panda. "What's it like over there?" She seemed slightly tense from trying to talk to Cam.

Cam spoke to Ying and told her everything about Bluebell, from the animals to the villagers living there. Lillian smiled and noticed an elderly woman walk from the back of the restaurant. She had her gray hair up in a neat bun and a warm smile on her face. She looked over at Lillian and then over at Cam.

"Dearies, why not take a seat?" She asked from over the counter.

Lillian nodded and tapped Cam on the shoulder, signaling the outside patio table. Cam nodded and followed her outside of the teahouse and outside to the table. As they sat down, Ying placed two cups of tea in front of them and sat next to Lillian. The elderly woman soon came out and took their orders.

"Yun, I'd like you to meet my friend Cam, he's from Bluebell. He's entered the cooking festival a few times." Lillian started.

Yun smiled at Cam. "Of course I know Cam; he's made some spectacular dishes for Bluebell. I also hear you're quite the florist."

Cam smiled at Yun. There was something about her presence that made Cam feel suddenly happy while he spoke to her. Her voice had such a calming melody to it, that he felt relaxed instantly when she conversed with him.

"Come along now little Ying, I'll need you to help me prepare the orders." Yun calmly grabbed her granddaughter's hand and walked back inside.

Lillian and Cam didn't speak— they felt comfortable just sitting in each other's presence. Lillian looked up. A cherry blossom tree loomed over them the petals a silky pink color still.

"I'm glad that you still got to see this tree." Lillian suddenly said.

Cam looked up a bit shocked that the trees petals had not yet fallen. It was a pretty sight; he hadn't ever seen an actual cherry blossom tree as they were indigenous to Konohana. A petal fell off the tree and fluttered down on top of Lillian's hair. He chuckled slightly before reaching over and plucking the petal off of her hair; she giggled when she saw what was in his hand.

Suddenly another petal fell and fluttered on top Cam's hat. She reached over and pulled the petal off of his hat. He smiled at her and soon they both started to laugh, both holding a small petal in their hands. He remembered the meaning of the cherry blossom petal as he looked at Lillian.

_Cherry blossoms meant innocence and simplicity; just like Lillian an innocent and simple friend who got along with everyone._

Ying came back to their table and set down two plates of three colored dumplings. Lillian looked up at Cam with a questioning look on her face. Cam seemed to have understood her expression.

"Well I decided to try the desserts here in Konohana since they seemed pretty interesting."

Ying watched the two of them interact and she smiled. They looked like they were having so much fun.

"…Lillian… is he your… boyfriend?" She whispered in Lillian's ear.

Lillian nearly choked on her dumpling. She turned to Ying, with a stunned look on her face.

"Why would you ask something like that?" Lillian asked after taking a sip of her tea.

Cam stared at the two of them, wondering what they were talking about.

"Well because you two sort of remind me of how my parents act around each other." Ying smiled shyly.

Cam understood what they were talking about then. Yin must have thought the two of them were a couple, but he figured it was an honest question filled with curiosity.

"Lillian and I are very good friends. Do you have a very good friend Ying?" Cam asked.

"Rahi is my best friend!" She smiled happily at the thought of the mayor's son.

"Well Lillian and I are like you and Rahi." Cam stated.

Lillian laughed to herself. Cam had no idea that Rahi had a big crush on Ying, comparing the two of them was something she found a tiny bit funny.

The two finished their meal and said good-bye to Yun and Ying. Lillian had walked with Cam back to the base of the mountain. Cam turned around and smiled at Lillian.

"I had a lot of fun today. It's a shame none of the other villagers can meet each other and become friendlier." Cam said.

Lillian nodded sadly. Cam looked down at the ground and spotted something pink.

"Well maybe if we keep participating in cooking festivals I can slowly convince the others to look at it as a friendly competition to eat food and have fun!" Lillian said. "Maybe then I can convince some people to help clear the tunnel."

Cam bent down and picked up the pink flower and smiled. "Lillian that seems like a great idea; if there's anything I can do let me know."

"Thank you very much Cam." Lillian smiled.

"Well I need to be getting back to the Café. So I'll see you soon." Cam said before handing over the flower to Lillian.

Lillian looked down at the pink flower and smiled at the message Cam just gave her. She held the flower close to her heart before walking back towards her farm.

_Sweet pea the flower that means departure after having a good time…_

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**So how'd you guys like it? Having Cam vistit Konohana was one hell of a stretch. Not to mention the fact that he went to deliver a Spring Harmony gift, I wish he actually did that in the game man. Every time I was in Konohana during spring I was like "I could be getting buttloads of damn chocolate right now..." But its cool, I've always liked Konohana more than Bluebell. I like both villages but just Konohana a bit more. Well thanks for reading and Happy July 4th to everyone!**


	3. Narcissus

__**Like what's up dudes. I'm up in Pennsylvania for vacation and having a blast, but luckily I brought my dad's netbook so you guys could still enjoy a quick update even as I'm on vacation! Yipee! right? So enjoy this little chapter!**

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_Floral Arrangements_

"_By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.__" — Rabindranath Tagore_

_Narcissus- Stay as lovely as you are_

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It was early— very, very early. Not even the wonderful birds that had greeted the morning upon the sun's arrival were up. But Cam was up and Cam was thinking and racked his brains.

"What am I doing that's wrong? Why isn't this bouquet coming out right?" He asked himself out of aggravation.

He stared at the blueprint in front of him. The lamp's light had been extremely bright but began to wear out, along with Cam's patience. He was a specialized florist who studied every flower and arrangement possible, yet an arrangement as simple as this was driving him nuts.

Pathetic, pitiful and painful; were the three words that best described how he felt at that moment.

A small knock could be heard before Laney walked in the small workspace with a worried look on her usually carefree face. She wondered what could have possibly bugged Cam this much, but every time she asked. He would always reply with:

"_You wouldn't understand."_

But she knew it wasn't him being mean, but rather he was just dealing with something and didn't want her to stress over it. She walked beside him and laid down a saucer far away from his work, she had placed a cup of warm, aromatic tea that seemed to somehow calm the tension in the room.

"Cam you shouldn't put yourself under pressure. It only helps to block the creativity." She advised. "Day in and day out you've slaved in this room and haven't gotten any form of fresh air."

Cam looked over at her. Under his bright green eyes were dark unattractive circles and a tired hopeless look resided in his eyes. Laney looked at him sadly and looked over at the calendar. It was Thursday and she decided that she wanted to take a break with him.

"Look Cam today's our day off, so why don't we hang out?"

"Laney I don't want to hang out." Cam said rather curt.

Laney felt a little hurt from his rejection but decided to press on. "But you need a break and sitting in here won't help you at all!"

Cam looked over at her. "I don't need your help with this I can do it all by myself. So stop bothering me about this."

Laney was going to say something until she noticed that Cam had turned his back to her and refused to listen to her anymore. She turned around and left the room without so much of a word.

Cam felt terrible; he hadn't meant to be so mean to Laney but he didn't want her to keep throwing herself aside to help him with everything. He wanted her to enjoy herself and have fun.

Cam continued to re-arrange bits and pieces of his blueprint and re-color designs until the morning sunlight filtered in through the window and the lamp flickered out. He looked down at the blueprint again and sighed in resignation before getting up and crumpling the once again failed blueprint. He tossed it next to a pile of crumpled papers and walked out of the door. He came face to face with Laney.

Laney averted her gaze from him and walked up the stairs that led to the other bedrooms. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry but decided that he should have given her space. He shook his head and walked out of the café, deciding that he probably did need fresh air. The sun greeted him and it took all the dignity he had left not to hiss at the sun like a rat coming out from darkness.

He strolled down until reaching the town's intersection. He figured he would go and pay a visit to the flowerbeds by the church and clear his mind. He walked down the path until he couldn't help but to hear someone singing rather loudly. It was coming from Lillian's farm and it sounded… horrid.

He shook his head and walked into the clearing that led into her farm. He didn't really know that she was actually given ownership to both farms. When she first moved in to the Bluebell farm and showed up at Howard's doorstep early in the morning, he nearly had a heart attack seeing her so early.

He saw the silliest sight possible — Lillian sang old MacDonald terribly while chasing her lambs across the pasture.

"Old MacDonald had a farm…" She sang loudly as she played with her sheep.

Cam sat down in front of her fence and watched her with amusement. The girl was totally oblivious to his presence. He snickered under his breath when she tumbled into the hay piles. Lillian followed the sound and looked over towards the fence. To her horror, Cam was there laughing at her.

She felt her face go red; she never really liked when people heard her sing —her mother always told her that she sounded like a total train wreck.

"How long have you been here?" She asked.

Cam finished laughing and got up. "I was here from the beginning of your lovely performance."

She looked absolutely mortified. Cam couldn't help but to laugh at her reaction, he walked closer to her. She looked over at him unhappily and he smiled at her before he patted her on her head.

"I enjoyed your performance, honestly." He smiled genuinely at her.

She calmed down and smiled back at him. "So what brings you to my humble farm?"

Cam looked down at her. He had no idea of what brought him to go see Lillian. What did he really want from her?

"Nothing… I just wanted to see you, I guess." He looked away from her.

He didn't see the small pink that colored her tanned cheeks. She knew it was just because they were friends but she couldn't help but feel a little happy at his words.

"Well it's true… I actually hadn't seen you in a while. Heh, but then again Ash had kept me so much company I guess it was kind of okay."

Cam felt a tiny pang in his chest from hearing that. He wondered why Ash hadn't even come by the café once but visited Lillian without hesitation. Was he more fun to hang out with? Did Lillian like him better? Questions ran through his head and he found himself a little jealous that Ash was spending more time with Lillian and he couldn't see her.

"Well it's nice that Ash had been here to keep you company."

Lillian nodded. "But it would have been better if you were with us; after all you're my closest friend Cam."

Cam felt instantly pleased at her words and a little triumphant over Ash… Even if he was being a tiny bit silly.

"So Cam what had you so crazy busy that you couldn't come and visit?" She huffed.

Cam smiled at Lillian and frowned a little. "Hey Lillian do you want to go somewhere with me?"

Lillian stared at him quizzically before agreeing happily. "Sure, where do you want to go?"

Cam took Lillian's hand lightly and walked with her off of the farm area and towards the mountain area. They stopped in front of the river and Cam sat down by the water and lay in the grass staring up at the sky. Lillian looked over at Cam worriedly as she sat next to him.

She noticed how pale his complexion became and the dark circles that lay beneath his green eyes. He looked absolutely exhausted!

"I'm sorry I hadn't been coming to visit you lately, I'd been under a lot of pressure… I had been dealing with something very important."

Lillian said nothing and looked into the water. It was clear and cool; the fish were swimming all along the stream.

"I'd been wondering if maybe I'm not that good at being a florist… making the simple mistakes that I do." He said dejected.

Suddenly he felt water splash on him and woke him out of his gloomy mood. He sat up quickly to see Lillian splashing around in the stream, attempting to hand- fish. He watched her in confusion; why would she have chosen that moment to hand- fish?

"Lillian what are you doing?"

"Getting some well… needed exercise!" She exclaimed happily.

Lillian splashed more water towards him. He shielded himself from the onslaught of water and got up.

"Lillian quit it!"

Lillian giggled and stuck her tongue out at Cam. "Make me!"

Cam was exhausted and he felt irritated by Lillian's sudden childish behavior. He got up and chased after her in the water. He splashed water in Lillian's direction and caused her to stumble in the water. She got back at him by sending a wave of water and fish in his direction and a small fish landed on his face. Lillian fell over and laughed hysterically at Cam's face.

Cam splashed her back twice as hard and a fish landed on her face. Lillian got up instantly and soon it turned into an all out splash war. Cam started to laugh and enjoy the little 'war' they started. Lillian smiled at Cam's change in behavior; he needed to relax and have some well deserved fun.

They continued the splash war until the chirping of the summer cicadas could be heard in the background. Lillian and Cam were soaked to the bone and shivering. However, Cam looked much more at ease and absolutely radiant — a noted improvement— as opposed to his previous somber aura.

Lillian got out of the water and Cam followed her off of the mountain area. They walked together and soon ended up in front of Lillian's door. She invited Cam in to dry off for a bit before he returned to the café.

Lillian walked to the back of her house while Cam sat down by the table. She quickly put on the water to boil for tea and grabbed two large and fluffy towels. She walked back to the table and draped the towel around Cam's shoulders and she soon did the same for herself.

Cam took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair before drying it off with the towel. Lillian watched Cam with a slight blush. She had never really seen him without his hat on, to her, it only added to his good looks. His hair was a really golden color of blond and it looked really silky in the light. She wondered if it smelt like the fresh flowers he worked with everyday.

Pulling her away from her thoughts the kettle whistled loudly and startled her. She walked away to prepare the tea and Cam turned around to look at her. He watched her with a slight flush in his cheeks. Lillian was the most interesting girl he had ever met… it also helped that she was quite pretty. When his mind wandered sometimes and his thoughts focused on her, he had always tried to compare her to a flower, but he never found one that fit her personality correctly.

She turned around and brought the tea to the table. Cam looked at her from across the table sleepily — those sleepless nights catching up to him— and sadly.

"Cam when I first started farming I hit my shin with the back of the hoe and I constantly messed up tilling soil." Lillian started. "When I got my first cow and chicken I accidentally left them out too long and woke them up from their sleep to move them back in the barn."

Cam looked at her with confusion. Why was she telling him all of that suddenly?

"I constantly forgot to feed my pets when I first got them and a lot of times I forgot to water my crops." Lillian said as she looked Cam straight in the eyes.

Cam nodded as he stared back at her. Was she trying to make him feel better?

"What I'm trying to tell you is that no matter what you get into, you always make mistakes whether you are a master or a novice. You might become upset that you've run into a minor setback, but you'll overcome it and then think of how wonderful it will feel to complete it!" Lillian smiled.

Cam's eyes widened and slowly his face calmed down and he smiled. Lillian reached over and slightly tapped him on the head. "And stop trying to do everything by yourself, you have friends for a reason." She scolded.

Cam nodded and apologized for worrying Lillian earlier. Lillian shook her head and smiled back at Cam.

"No problem, so if I run into a problem I expect you to be there for me." Lillian said.

Cam stared at Lillian as if he was deciding to ask her something. He nodded to himself and soon looked up at Lillian and decided to confide in her.

"Lillian, the reason why I've been so stressed lately is because my friend is getting married and he's done so much for me that I want to make a flawless floral arrangement for the couple. But I can't seem to be able to get the flowers correct."

"Well what are the colors?" Lillian asked calmly as she sipped the tea.

"Well the bride likes pink and white flowers but I can't seem to make a correct choice for the accent color."

"Well you could try Gerberas; the red will make them pop but at the same time give the other flowers a nice glow." Lillian said.

Cam's eyes widened as he looked at Lillian. Of course Gerberas could work, he kept thinking about that flower before but he thought it wouldn't have been enough.

"Lillian, you're amazing!"

Cam ran around the table in a burst of excitement to hug her. Lillian was initially shocked but eased herself into the hug. He smelled like the freshest of flowers and the perfume he worked hard on making every day.

Lillian and Cam pulled away from each other — secretly reluctant— and looked away from each other.

Lillian suddenly remembered something and ran to the back of her house and towards her vase. She picked up a lone white flower that looked a little like a star and held it gently as she walked back to Cam.

Cam looked at Lillian's hands and noticed the flower. "Isn't that a Narcissus?"

Lillian nodded at Cam and gave him the flower. Cam smiled and decided to tease Lillian.

"Isn't that a bit mean, I thought you liked me. Calling me a narcissist isn't something friends do."

Lillian blushed aware that Cam was messing with her. "No silly, I meant the other meaning of the flower!"

Cam laughed. "I know, don't worry I was just teasing you."

"Well I thought that after today this message would cheer you up and let you know that you have a friend anywhere you look… and that, well, I like you just as you are!" She said cheerfully as she offered him the flower.

Cam blushed slightly before smiling happily and tipping his hat in appreciation. He gave Lillian a small wave and thanks after leaving her house. On his walk back to the café he held the flower close to his heart and smiled as he thought of Lillian. He only wished he could have said the same thing back to her without getting a bit nervous.

But he really did feel the same and he was sure his feelings would never change.

_Narcissus the flower that means "stay as lovely as you are."_

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__**So I don't know when I'll update this again, probably in a week or two maybe, but I hoped you enjoyed it! This is my review section as a way to thank those who reviewed starting from last chapter! **

**Review Section****:**

**BizarreSimplicity: Thank you for the review! I love how Cam and Lillian's personality is turning out because I really had to sit and think about how to make them act based on the game. So I'm happy you like my portrayal of them.**

**NocturnalSky: Heh I'm quite happy I have an awesome fan! It makes me feel like my writing is going somewhere. I have actually planned the chapters in arcs so while I plan to have them interact like friends who turn into lovers do. There are little hints that show it progressed to the next level for them. As for Bluebell vs. Konohana, I seem to like the Bluebell guys more than the Konohana guys, so Bluebell wins in that aspect.**

**tashaj4de: I'm glad you enjoy the story topic. I find the language of flowers really cute, not to mention it's great when you look at a flower and go "oh that flower means…" isn't it?**

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**Stay tuned for the next chapter! Good bye!  
**


	4. Viscaria

**Hey! It's me and back with an update, So in the story a lot of times I'll mention random other villagers in Konohana and Bluebell. Think of them as sub-villagers, they have no purpose but to add population to the villages, because the story wouldn't sound right if I followed the game exactly and the population of both places were like 10 main people. That's just silly!**_  
_

**BTW What do you guys think of the cover image? I did it myself, if you wanna use it just ask me or credit me!  
**

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_Floral Arrangements_

"_Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star.__"— Paul Dirac_

_Viscaria- Will you dance with me?_

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To say that today wasn't a big deal was something silly. To say that today wasn't important was stupid. To say that today Lillian wasn't completely breaking down in the middle of her bedroom would have been a lie— because she was freaking out completely— and the fact that she wasn't ready for today's festivities didn't help.

She looked over at her calendar and frowned.

It was the 18th of summer.

It was the 18th of summer which meant it was the Stargazing festival

It was the Stargazing festival in which everyone danced together and under the stars; in a fire- lit area.

It was extremely romantic and that was the cause of Lillian's distress. She had become very comfortable in Bluebell, but the romance- oriented festivals were a bit too much for her. Especially when she thought about one person she wanted to spend most of those festivals with.

The person invaded her mind again. It was her best friend, the one person that she always found pleasure in being near; it was Cam.

She hadn't been aware of those budding feelings she held for her friend. It wasn't something as drastic as love, but just a small, friendly crush. Cam was very attractive and he had such a sweet personality, that it was unbelievable that no one else liked him in that sense.

And that was her problem… Approaching her best friend normally like a friend would.

Had the festival been earlier in the summer, she would have casually walked up to him and said "Hey Cam, do you wanna dance?" and danced with him like a normal friend. But as all crushes went, her feelings had become extremely sensitive toward anything that had to do with the man.

That was why Lillian was on her floor; sulking and moping like a child who had just lost their balloon. She had considered not going, but that would only arouse suspicion in the other villagers, especially Cam himself.

She heard a knock on her door and contemplated ignoring it so she could just think about what to do for the festival. But she got up and decided to answer the door anyway.

On her doorstep was Ash. Lillian smiled at Ash brilliantly and greeted him with an energetic "Good Afternoon!"

Ash smiled back at Lillian and asked to come in for a bit. Lillian nodded, thanking Ash secretly in her mind, as he was a distraction from her thoughts.

"So Lillian, how are you this afternoon?"

"More or less great, what brings you here?" Lillian asked.

"Well, I wanted to ask you something…" Ash trailed off.

Ash was tense and apprehensive; something that worried Lillian. He looked away from her eyes; his clear blue eyes stared down at the floor. Lillian wondered what Ash wanted to ask her if he was that uncomfortable.

"Um well I wanted as if you'll be my date to the festival tonight?"

Lillian stared at Ash and let out a breath of relief. "Of course Ash, I would have asked you to dance with me anyway!"

Ash's eyes sparkled brightly. "I was afraid you'd take it the wrong way when I said 'date' but that's the formal way to ask out a lady, friend or not."

Lillian giggled at Ash's peculiar behavior. "Oh but what about — what about Cam?"

Ash's smile faltered a bit at the mention of Cam, but he caught himself. "Cam's going as Laney's date; it's like that every year."

"… Laney's date… Well it sounds like fun."

Lillian had meant that but she couldn't help but feel slightly resentful towards Laney; even if Cam hadn't personally sought her out… She would have felt better knowing he didn't go with anyone as a date. It was selfish but… she couldn't help the way she was feeling.

"Well I'll see you later; I'll pick you up at 8 pm." Ash smiled before leaving Lillian's house.

Lillian had hoped that her 'date' with Ash would help perk her up for the day. She stepped outside for a small walk out on the mountain and hoped the fresh air would do her some good.

In the Café was quiet. The town was quiet on festival days as everyone prepared to play their role in the festival. But the Café was never quiet, so this was unusual.

Howard was in the kitchen with Laney preparing the food for the festival. Cam was left alone in his room, on his bed as he looked up at the ceiling. His face had the same calm look, but his mood had been pretty sour. All he could think about was how he failed to ask Lillian to the festival with him. The whole week had been full of failures, which led to the unfulfilling Saturday that was today.

Cam rolled around in his bed, faced the wall on his left then turned back to the ceiling and then rolled to the right wall before he repeated the movements. He decided to ask her on Tuesday, since he wasn't in the village on Monday. However, Lillian decided to spend that day in Konohana Village with her other friends. On Wednesday there was a typhoon which held him in the café and held Lillian in the Town Hall at Konohana. When she came back on Thursday, he had spent the day with her but chickened out from asking her, leaving Friday as the day he would ask. But then he ran into Ash…

He felt angry at his friend and himself every time he remembered the conversation. Cam was going to hang out with Lillian when he saw Ash outside tending to the barn animals. Cam called out to Ash and decided to have a conversation with him. All was well until the festival came up.

"So Cam, are you gonna go with Laney again?"

"I think Laney and I both outgrew going together, there's a lot more guys she can ask now." Cam laughed.

"Oh, is that so. Were you gonna ask Georgia or one of the other random girls in the village?" Ash asked him.

"Um no, I was actually gonna ask…"

However Ash hadn't let him finish. "I want to ask Lillian, I've had a crush on her since the day I met her man."

Cam clenched his fist. He knew Ash had a crush on Lillian… but it bothered him a lot more than before. He wanted to say something like "me too" and laugh it off, but he had a feeling none of them would be laughing after he said that. He also felt like telling Ash to back off and ask Lillian anyway. But he didn't like arguments and he didn't want to strain his and Ash's friendship. So he put up a fake smile and told him good luck as he walked off avoiding Lillian's house and going into the mountain area and sitting by the river.

When he had gotten home, Laney catapulted herself on him and asked him to go with her to the festival. He settled and told her yes anyway, completely ruining his chances of asking Lillian.

Cam looked back up at the ceiling, blaming himself for his lack of assertion and his willingness to give up making others happy. Now he'd have to go to the festival, because he would cause others to question his actions including Lillian herself — and that was something he didn't want to go through.

He got up from his bed and stared at the door. He wanted to help Howard in the kitchen, but then he'd have to make conversation and Laney had noticed his sour mood so she would have questioned him on it, making his mood even worse.

He decided to go for a walk in the town and hoped that the fresh air would better improve his mood. He walked into the mountain area and stood in front of the river. He wondered what Lillian had been doing at that time and if she accepted Ash's request.

Over in Konohana, Lillian had watched as the village bustled about with energy— the complete opposite of Bluebell— as they didn't celebrate the Stargazing festival in the village. She hadn't intended to go that far but soon she found herself missing Konohana and ending up in the village.

She walked around and waved hello to some of the other villagers that lived there. A lot of them she didn't really spend much time with. A lot of the street vendors waved at her and offered her refreshments but she declined politely before walking into the village square. She idly checked out the village request board and pulled down a lot of the requests before sighing and slumping against the board miserably.

She wanted to go with Cam, she couldn't ignore it. But she couldn't have asked him casually during the week because she was too afraid to bring it up. Now Cam was going with Laney and she was going with Ash.

She heard someone calling her name but she ignored it… that was until the voice boomed in her ear. She looked up at the person startled by the loud and sudden action. It was Mayor Ina and Rahi walking down the path. She looked at her watch and noticed that it was 5:30 p.m.

"What's wrong Lillian, are you feeling sick?" Rahi asked.

Lillian shook her head and patted Rahi on the head. Rahi held Lillian's hand in his small one and smiled at Lillian.

"You maybe in Bluebell for now but you're always a Konohana resident and special friend to us all."

Lillian had cheered up at Rahi's words and smiled at him. "I'll look forward to the day you become mayor Rahi."

Rahi blushed and kicked the dirt. "Aw shucks Lillian, that's nice of you to say. Thank you!"

Ina laughed at her son's bashful behavior and looked over at Lillian. Lillian looked at Ina and decided to ask the mayor about her problem. Ina invited Lillian back into the Town Hall for a cup of tea. Rahi was able to read the unspoken words between Lillian and his mother and decided to go find Ying.

When the two women went up the stairs, Ina offered Lillian a seat at the dining room table. Lillian looked at Mayor Ina with slight embarrassment. Reina had told her once that Ina was good at giving advice, but she didn't know how to approach the subject. Ina sensing Lillian's nervousness, pulled out fresh flowers and the smell instantly relaxed Lillian.

Ina set down a cup of tea in front of Lillian and took off her head scarf. Lillian was amazed at the long ebony locks that cascaded down the Mayor's back. Somehow, she looked less intimidating and more like a mother… more like her mother.

"So Lillian, what seems to have gotten you so down?" Ina asked in a soft voice.

Lillian's eyes widened. She understood why Reina had recommended Ina as someone to ask for advice. She was like a different person when speaking to someone one on one.

Lillian explained her whole situation to Ina as she listened intently. When Lillian finished, Ina looked down at her cup of tea. She looked back at Lillian with a toothy grin.

"So Cam became your best friend but then you gained a crush on him? I always expected you to go after Kana, since you hung out so much." Ina laughed.

Lillian chuckled. "No way, Kana is like my older brother Phillip, just replace the horse obsession with girls and it's like talking to the same person."

Ina laughed, slightly curious about her brother but didn't ask any more about him. "So you wanted to ask Cam to the festival, but you couldn't do it — and because you two are best friends you expected him to ask you but he asked another girl?"

Lillian shook her head. "I don't think he asked Laney, but Ash made it sound like it was something they did when they were younger… but it still upset me greatly."

"Well Lillian, I don't particularly see the problem… You two are best friends, which must mean that Cam is comfortable with you to a good degree, so why not use that to slowly build a foundation to see where you want to take the relationship." Ina said. "Even if he didn't ask you to go with him, just remember that as best friends Cam will naturally enjoy your company. So ask him to dance or just chat with him alone and you'll be amazed by the progress."

Lillian looked at Ina with wide eyes. Ina had a point; rather than to agonize about him and her sudden feelings, just treat him as a friend and build from there. It wasn't the end of the world if they didn't go together but she could always talk to him as normal and even get a dance from it.

Lillian thanked Ina for the advice before looking at the clock and gasping loudly.

It was already 7:30 p.m.!

She needed to run home to meet up with Ash quickly. She thanked Ina for the wonderful advice before dashing down the stairs and out towards the doors.

At the festival, music could be heard and laughter could be heard all around. There was a huge flower arrangement in the center of the field; shaped like a star. The dim light of the torches gave the festival a surreal glow underneath the dark blue starry sky. At the table of refreshments was Cam standing by his lonesome as he watched Laney dance with one of the other young men in town. Laney enjoyed herself but occasionally glanced back at Cam and felt sad.

Why hadn't he wanted to dance with her?

She followed his eyes and watched as they roamed over to Lillian and Ash. Cam watched as Lillian giggled happily while dancing with Ash. She was actually pretty bad at dancing but the look of fun on her face made her terrible sense of rhythm look minor.

Cam couldn't help but to smile softly at his cheerful friend who always seemed to light up wherever she went. Soon Lillian parted with Ash to dance with some of the other boys who asked for a dance. Cam wanted to ask her to dance too, but he was afraid that would have caused problems for him, Laney and Ash.

The music suddenly became louder and fast and soon enough the music stopped. Then a new one started up. Before Cam knew it, Laney grabbed him and pulled him out on to the dance area. She lifted her skirt slightly to dance a small little jig before fully going into the dance. Cam didn't put his hands on her much and if he did he opted for her shoulders.

Cam saw Lillian and Ash twirl around in a little circle holding hands. Cam watched as Lillian's hair flowed behind her and her skirt danced on the air. Cam felt a bit jealous again that Lillian hadn't been laughing with him but with Ash. Soon the two couples were back to back, however Ash and Laney were facing the opposite sides and positioned so that Lillian and Cam were facing each other. Lillian gave Cam a big smile and mouthed 'hello' to him. Cam smiled back and returned the greeting.

Suddenly Rutger announced "Switch Partners!" and on cue, Cam spun Laney and Lillian twirled from Ash and into Cam's hands. Laney and Ash somehow grabbed each other and lost track of their previous partners amongst the dancing bodies.

Cam danced joyfully with Lillian to the music. His hands held hers as he guided her through simple spins and twirls. Lillian really had no sense of rhythm, but Cam didn't care, as long as she smiled when she was with him.

"Sorry we didn't see each other much Cam." Lillian said over the music.

"It's okay, we got to see each other now and that's all that matters." He smiled as he picked her up and twirled her to the music.

Lillian was shocked and laughed at the sudden move. She didn't expect Cam to be such a good dancer, but it wouldn't have mattered if he was terrible like her. As long as she got to be with her best friend it was all that mattered.

The song ended and Rutger announced the end of the festival and hoped the stars would be out next year. Lillian was about to help clean up with them until she felt a hand tug her back. She turned around to see who was tugging her and it was Cam.

He pulled her towards the Harvest Goddess' spring and sat down in front of the water. The area seemed to be illuminated by the water. Cam patted the spot next to him and Lillian followed him by sitting down with him.

"You know I was planning on asking you to come with me to the festival."

Lillian's eyes widened at the statement and she could feel the heat rise to her cheeks. She looked over at Cam who looked at the spring with his usual cool expression. He stared back at her and she felt the need to say something.

"Me too, I was gonna ask you too… but I heard that you went with Laney every year so I didn't want to intrude on that."

Cam sighed. "Laney is like my younger sister while we do a lot of things together; sometimes it's a little stifling. I wanted to go with you truly but Laney doesn't really like doing anything without her 'big bro' Cam." Cam looked at Lillian. "'Why not enjoy this festival with my new best friend?' Was what I thought when the festival came up…"

Lillian smiled at Cam's words. He did think about her and he did want to ask her; and that was all she needed to be happy.

Cam looked down and noticed a small flower at the side of the spring. It was a beautiful purple flower that looked like a firework at full bloom. He smiled at the flower and plucked it from the damp soil; mentally saying sorry for plucking it. He got up and presented it to Lillian with a smile on his face and his hat in his hand.

"Will you dance with me?"

Lillian smiled and got up. She put her arms around his shoulders and he put his hands around her waist. There wasn't any music, there weren't any fancy moves to be shown and there weren't any interruptions.

"By the way Lillian, I see your dancing is as good as your singing." Cam joked.

"Hey I'm a farmer not a pop-star… So sorry if you were expecting that." Lillian huffed.

Cam smiled. "It's okay; you're my best friend so naturally everything you do happens to be great to me anyway."

He pulled Lillian close and therefore couldn't see the smile that spread across her face and the blush that spread from cheek to cheek.

She was glad they were best friends, which was the best thing that she could ask for from him… for now. Until she was ready to try with her new feelings for him, she would be happy just being in the arms of her best friend.

_Viscaria the flower that means "Will you dance with me?"_

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**So how'd you like the story my friends. Just thought I'd share some funny extra info, I don't know how many of you played RPG Maker 3 for Playstation 2, but there's a theme in the game called Carnival, that was the song that I could hear in the background during the first dance scene with Cam and Lillian, also I visualized them doing something like the dance in Red Riding Hood with Amanda Seyfried (amazing actress!) as for the dance in the Harvest Spring, I listened to the Inn theme in Final Fantasy X because that song always put me in a calm mood.**

**Review Section:**

**BizarreSimplicity: Aha thanks for the review, it makes me happy to know that you still enjoy this story! Originally I was going to give Lillian a superb singing voice, one that would call down the angels from the heavens! (lol) But when I thought about it, you rarely see a protagonist of a story have a few faults, because people like to write them to be the ideal person. I kind of get a little tired of the beautiful voice and the person they're after hears and suddenly falls in love, so I decided to make it a bit more fun! It's nice to know you appreciated it!**

**Guest: Thank you for the review! I wanted to put in two of his flower events because a lot of them actually show some sort of depth in Cam's personality. I just tweaked it a bit so it would flow in story form. I'm glad you enjoyed the idea of the language of flowers; I had been toying with this idea for a while because I do enjoy learning about flowers and their meanings because it's a subtle way of sending messages to people, so I completely agree with you.**

**tashaj4de: Thank you for the review! Nice to know that the story is informative for you!**

**sanosaurus: Aha thank you very much, your review put a smile on my face. I think the same way about stories and being forced to review, but getting a nice or helpful review puts a smile on my face and sharing is caring. I'm glad I have furthered your love for Cam, mine's has too since writing the story. It's nice to know I'm being successful and getting a nice review for it! =)**


	5. Dandelion

**Hey! I'm back with an update. Gotta thank you all for the reviews. These past few days have been rather crappy but nothing that can pull me away from this story! I have to say that while I kept reading this over and over I'm pretty unsatisfied with it, but I decided it was at least decent enough to post. So tell me if this chapter seems a little off or if you think its still fine.**_  
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_Floral Arrangements_

"_There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.__" — Matsuo Basho_

_Dandelion- Wishes comes true_

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Lillian woke up groggy. She was absolutely about to just sleep in for the day and do nothing.

She looked over at the calendar. She smiled at the small heart that was drawn on the 1st of fall. It was a pretty important day to her; Cam's birthday.

When the day came she decided to pull Howard, Ash and Laney into throwing him a small party filled with savory foods and a small semi- sweet cake. The look on his face when he came home was precious to Lillian. It had put a smile on her face almost instantaneously to remember it.

Lillian brushed off the morning grogginess and ran full force into her bathroom to get ready for the day.

When Lillian walked outside of the farm, she noticed that the usual busy streets of Konohana were empty. All the street vendors were closed up and not a soul was wandering around. Even Mayor Ina was nowhere to be found or Dirk, the mailman, who was always on the streets.

The stores were all locked up and closed, including the Town Hall. She ran back towards the village intersection and hopped over the fence in Kana's field. She ran into the stable, expecting the goofy guy to be tending to Hayate, his prized mare.

As she entered the stable, surely enough, Kana was brushing his mare with googly eyes. Lillian shook her head, as she plotted in her head to set Kana up with one of the girls in the village. Lillian snuck behind Kana and reached up to his shoulder and quietly whispered in his ear:

"_Boo!"_

Kana, with blinding fast speed, grabbed Lillian around the waist and swung her in the air. Once he set Lillian down, she punched him square in the chest as she clutched at her heart.

"You could have given me a heart- attack." She gasped for the oxygen she lost in shock.

"Maybe next time you'll totally re-consider before trying to, like sneak up on me." Kana said while rubbing the spot Lillian hit. He would never admit to her that her punch was pretty painful.

Lillian stopped her previous freak out and smiled at Kana. "Sorry Kana, I guess I should have thought about that more carefully." She walked over to pet the large chocolate- colored mare. "I think we scared Hayate a little."

Kana instantly started brushing her as a form of apology. "So Lillian, what brings you over to this side of the village?"

"Kana, we live not so much even 5 minutes away from each other. Don't make it sound so far away." She sighed at her friend's exaggeration. "I actually wanted to know why it's so empty in Konohana today."

Kana gave her a silly look. "Dude you, like, have to look at your calendar for more reasons than besides your Bluebell boyfriend."

Lillian's face reddened at Kana's blatant teasing. "He's not my boyfriend… And I don't pay attention to the calendar just for… him."

Kana laughed and pulled Lillian into a gentle headlock. "Hahaha its fun to tease you, ya know?"

Lillian huffed before looking up at the older man. "Wait Kana, what's going on with today?"

"Oh yeah, it's the Moon viewing festival today; same thing like the Cherry Blossom Festival, except it's like you know the moon… and at night. A lot of the other villagers turn it into some kind of romance fest, but it's not really for that reason."

Lillian sighed. "Oh it's one of those things huh?"

Kana released Lillian from his hold and patted her head. "Lillian, you know you can't invite Cam, its Konohana exclusive."

Lillian sighed. While the cooking festivals were going in her favor, she knew it would take much more to get Konohana and Bluebell to finally meet eye – to – eye. She practiced her cooking day in and day out with the fierce inner desire to help the two towns reconcile and become friends once again. From her first Cucumber Namul to her current Ultimate Curry, her cooking became stronger in taste and quality just to help out the Harvest Goddess and clear the debris from the tunnel. She had Eileen help blast away most of the rocks but the last amount was the most troublesome obstacle.

"Kana, can't I just invite him to show that the rivalry between the two towns is water under the bridge?"

Kana shook his head. "I support your idea whole- heartedly but, that just won't work dude. It won't work at all."

Lillian pouted but knew when to give up. "I guess rebuilding the connection between Konohana and Bluebell will have to take some more time."

Kana patted Lillian's back in reassurance. "Lillian, if anyone can help do that it will be you. My faith is totally placed in you and I know for sure you'll be able to help everyone connect."

Lillian nodded happily before going towards the door and leaving Kana to prepare for the festival.

Lillian walked through the empty streets of Konohana and watched as people busily prepared in their homes for the festivities. She walked into Yun's tea house to find Yun and Ying cooking fervently in the kitchen. She spotted Rahi in the corner sulking.

"Hey why the long face, Rahi?"

"Oh hey Lillian… I tried to help Ying but she said that I should just sit this one out." Rahi said sadly. "That just means that I'm getting in the way doesn't it?"

Lillian giggled. "Rahi don't be silly, Ying didn't say that now did she?"

Rahi shook his head. "It means she doesn't want you to worry about anything and that they can handle everything."

Rahi looked over at Ying and nodded in understanding. "I see, so she wants me to be able to help but depend on others as well?"

Lillian smiled at Rahi. "Of course, the next mayor can't do everything so he has to put trust in the villagers as well."

"Ohh… I see." Rahi smiled once more. "I'm glad you explained that Lillian… I hope you'll make something for the festival too! Your cooking is awesome!" He smiled.

Lillian waved at Rahi before leaving the tea house and promised to make something for the festival.

She decided she would make a soup that she knew was the best soup she could make. She ran back towards her farm and hopped on her pure white horse, Spirit. She rode into the mountain to get the freshest of ingredients. She left Spirit near the river on Konohana's side before dismounting.

"Let's see… I need tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and fresh crab." Lillian sighed as she counted what she needed.

She hated hand- fishing for crab as they usually pinched her a lot and while mushrooms thrived in fall, she'd still have to go snooping in cramped areas to pick them.

"Oh boy…" She said as she ran around scrounging for mushrooms.

Her pursuit of the elusive mushrooms took her all the way to the other side of the mountain, namely Bluebell.

She decided to drop by the Café for a bit, against her better judgment. She knew that seeing Cam would only upset her more knowing that she couldn't ask him to the festival with her. She knew that even if she did bring him, it would cause confusion amongst those in Konohana.

But to hell with it — She was still going to see her best friend anyway!

Lillian marched into Bluebell repeating a mantra in her head.

_I'm going to see Cam and not ask him to the festival._

She walked into Bluebell and returned the sunny smiles of the villagers. She waved enthusiastically to Mayor Rutger and Eileen as they passed by her. She walked over to the fence of Jessica's shop and hopped over it with gusto.

Ash turned around from tending Minnie, one of the jersey cows, and greeted Lillian with a large hug. He spun her around and laughed with glee, also sporting a serious blush on his face. Once he pulled away, he clapped her on the shoulder gently.

"Lillian, I haven't seen you here since Cam's birthday."

"But that's strange… I've been in the village a few times before." She bit her lip.

She'd known the reason why Ash never saw her was because she would meet Cam on his days off to go on a 'date' as she liked to call it. Therefore, she only really entered the village for a supply of fodder and feed while Ash was probably still in the barn.

"Well we've missed each other obviously." He laughed. "Are you busy right now? I wanna hang out."

Lillian was about to say 'sure' until his mother came outside.

"Ash, are you finished tending to the animals?" Jessica asked.

Ash's mood visibly deflated. "Um well no… but…"

Jessica shook her head at her son. "Ash, stop being so quick to drop your responsibilities to hang out, I mean do you think Lillian does this?"

Ash looked over at Lillian. "Well of course not…"

Jessica continued. "Lillian takes on requests, tends to animals and even raises crops. Her workload is obviously heavier than yours, but she obviously understands there's a time to play and work."

"Besides it's unbecoming of a man to slack off — especially in front of a lady." She said almost slyly.

Ash suddenly looked at Lillian who offered him a sympathetic smile. Honestly she liked to work to the point of exhaustion, so she believed it was a little harsh of Jessica to compare her son who was a normal guy to a work- horse like herself.

"Ash, I'll stop by tomorrow and we can go and eat outside by Howard's café! I'll reserve my day just for you!" She smiled.

Ash looked over at his mother almost pleadingly. Jessica smiled at her goofy son, she was aware that Ash was quite taken with the young farmer. But she understood it wasn't her place to meddle in her son's affairs.

"Okay, I'll assign Cheryl to animal duty." She laughed. "But you better be ready to make up for this."

Ash gladly agreed to whatever his mom said. He gave Lillian a hug and saw her off to the fence before he tended to the animals once more.

Lillian walked towards Howard's café and entered cheerfully.

"Hi welcome to the café!" Laney exclaimed. "— oh hello Lillian."

Laney's excitement waned fast at the sight of the young woman. Lillian questioned Laney's peculiar behavior and was about to ask her what was wrong until Howard walked over to Lillian and gave her one of his special hugs.

"Oh Lillian, sweetie, I enjoy seeing your cute face walk in here so much!" Howard smiled. "So what are you in the mood for today?"

"Oh well um —"

"I'm back." A voice called out.

Lillian turned around to see Cam. Howard scooped Cam up into his grasp, causing the young man to panic.

"Oh Cam, darling, I'm so sorry that I sent you off on an errand during your day off… Especially when I made you promise to take the day off!"

"Howard its okay, I didn't mind…" He panicked.

Lillian couldn't help but to giggle at the sight. Cam wasn't one for physical contact much. She remembered that the only time he hugged her was during the whole freak out session that he had with making his friend's bouquet. The other time would probably be during the Star Gazing Festival last season, but that was dancing. She never got a genuine hug from him, but it never really bothered her anyway.

Howard finally released the man and went back behind the counter. Cam exhaled a sigh before he turned to greet Lillian with his usual smile.

"Hi Lillian, what brings you here today?" He asked.

"Oh just a visit…"

Hm… Well I still have more of my day off… so would you like to spend some time with me?" He offered.

"Sure, I have time to kill."

Cam and Lillian waved good- bye to Howard and Laney. But Lillian noticed that Laney still looked displeased. She figured that Laney may have just had a bad day.

Cam and Lillian reached the river by the mountains. Lillian noticed that Cam was rather talkative more than usual.

But the only thing she could think about was asking him to the festival.

But Kana's words foiled her thoughts as they repeated in her head:

"_Lillian, you know you can't invite Cam, its Konohana exclusive."_

She shook her head of the thoughts and looked over at Cam who stared back at her.

"Lillian, you're really quiet today… What's on your mind— if you don't mind me asking?"

Lillian was upset greatly by what choice of action to choose. She wanted Cam to go with her; she wanted him to show that Konohana could celebrate with Bluebell and vice- versa… But more importantly, she just wanted him to come because _**she**_ wanted to be with him.

"Cam I wanted to invite you… I wanted to ask." Lillian shook her head. "Never mind, it's actually not so important."

She couldn't be selfish and ruin the festival like that. Tradition was tradition and she would not place such a burden on her friend because of her feelings for him. It was disrespectful and a lack of courtesy to bring someone considered an outsider to a festival in her village and it would only serve to embarrass both her and Cam.

"Actually Cam… I have to head out, there's a festival in Konohana and I've yet to get fresh crab for my dish."

"Well I could ask Howard to…"

Lillian shook her head. "I can't possibly ask you to help with a Konohana event… It's uncalled for."

At that Cam got angry. "Lillian, why should I care about what the food is being used for, I'm helping _**you**_ out. Besides when did you start to care about the Konohana vs. Bluebell feud anyway?"

Lillian shook her head. "As the way things stand, Konohana and Bluebell can't see eye to eye right now so maybe I shouldn't be so quick to destroy the tradition."

Cam turned around from Lillian. "So you're going to give up?"

Lillian's eyes widened. "What! I never said that Cam! Stop putting words in my mouth."

Cam rolled his eyes. "Well that's what it sounded like. You're starting to sound like Rutger and Ina, tradition this and tradition that. I thought you wanted to close the gap, not further it."

Lillian started to get irritated. "Cam, why are you getting so bent out of shape? I just refused your help and now you're bringing Bluebell and Konohana into this!"

"No, Lillian, you brought the towns into this. You're being a hypocrite, complaining about the feud but then you support it by bringing up me giving you a crab."

Lillian huffed and turned around. "Bye Cam, I've nothing left to say to you."

She ran back up the mountain and towards the river on the side of Konohana. Angered by Cam's behavior she decided to fish for the crab— pinching or not. It was outrageous that he got so angry; it wasn't like the world was ending because she refused the crab. She was just trying to hold the tradition in deep regards… Cam didn't need to help her with a festival that he couldn't even attend with her.

Lillian finally got the crab that she wanted and quickly hopped on Spirit, riding him off onto her farm.

Once inside she started to boil the water and prepared the crab. She chopped up the mushrooms with precision and sliced the tomatoes. She threw in a chili pepper in the water once it started to boil. She tossed in the crab and tomatoes.

She waited for the rest to simmer. A knock on her door could be heard before the door was opened. She turned around knowing only two people usually entered her house like that; and she was positive that it wasn't the Mayor.

"What's up Kana?" She said without turning around.

Kana was taken aback. "How'd you know it was me?"

Lillian didn't respond to the question. Kana decided to sit down on the cushion by her table and watch her cook.

"So you almost done with making whatever it is you're making?"

"Yeah, it's about done. Taste it for me."

Kana walked over to the pot and sniffed the soup. "It's spicy, just how I like it!"

He dipped the spoon into the pot and blew on it before finishing. "Whoa, Lillian this is absolutely amazing."

Lillian swelled with pride. "Great!"

She turned off the fire and let the soup cool. She turned around to Kana and started to frown.

"Kana, I tried to ask Cam to come to the festival…"

Kana gave her a disapproving look. Lillian continued nonetheless. "But I decided against it because of the tradition and then we got in a fight." She then explained to Kana fully about the fight.

Kana looked up into the air and placed a finger on his chin. "That's rough dude… But ya know I think I can understand why Cam was upset."

Lillian huffed at Kana's response. "I guess because you two became friends despite the fact that you came from Konohana and he came from Bluebell. So I guess it sort of hurt him when you rejected his offer because he's from Bluebell. It's sort of like looking down on your friendship ya know?"

Lillian paled at the realization. She had felt terrible now that she realized what she did to Cam. But the festival was already taking place and there was no way she could go and apologize to him. Kana noted the look on Lillian's face.

"Lillian, why don't we go to the festival together, you and me, bro and sis?" Kana smiled at Lillian.

Lillian nodded at Kana who smiled at her. "Great! Now let me just go and take care of the horses and we'll meet up at the mountaintop."

Lillian smiled at Kana and waved good- bye to him until the festival. She turned around and poured the soup in a container and put it in her storage. When she finally finished everything, she noticed it was almost time for the festival to start. She quickly hopped onto Spirit and rode off towards the mountaintop.

When she arrived, the festival had started and everyone had begun to talk amongst each other. She didn't see Kana anywhere, so she put the soup down on the food table and set up a blanket near the edge of the mountaintop by the fence.

It had been going on ten and there was still no sign of Kana. She'd finished talking to every person in the village already. She noticed behind her was a single yellow dandelion that grew on the grass. The flower reminded her of Cam and she instantly felt bad again.

_I wish… I wish Cam was here with me._

Lillian turned back around and looked up at the moon. It was a beautiful sight; the moon had never looked that big.

"Yo Lillian, sorry I'm late!"

Lillian turned to yell at Kana but stopped dead in her tracks. Behind Kana was the one person she wouldn't have expected to see at the festival.

"Hi Lillian, how are you?" Cam asked quietly.

"Kana, what on earth took you so long?" She didn't once break eye contact with Cam.

"Aha see when I said I was going to check on the horses, I did check on them. But then I rode Hayate up to the mountaintop to speak with Mayor Ina about inviting Cam and surprisingly no one objected to him coming."

Cam nodded at Lillian. "He came to get me, but the only reason why it took so long was because he and Georgia got into a fight." Cam frowned at the memory.

Kana laughed as Lillian glared at him. Kana ruffled Lillian's hair before taking off to eat. He turned to Cam. "Oh dude you should try Lillian's soup, its wicked good."

Cam turned to Lillian. "Oh yeah, you were making a dish. What was it?"

Lillian turned her face the moon— a small blush on her cheeks. "I made Tom Yum Goong; in my hopes that you would come."

Cam smiled at Lillian. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. Kana explained it to me fully."

Lillian turned around. "So you're not angry anymore?"

He shook his head. She smiled at him. "Well that's good. I'm sorry Cam."

Cam said nothing as he slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She hugged him back — not that she wasn't shocked— and tightened her arms around him before letting go.

"Are you hungry?" She asked.

He sat down on the blanket and patted the spot next to him. She sat down next to him and gazed up at the moon.

"No not really." He answered. "For now let's just enjoy the festival together."

The two of them sat happily next to each other with a lone dandelion behind them dancing in the nightly autumn breeze.

_Dandelion the flower that means wishes comes true._

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**So this is the chapter. Honestly to tell you guys a funny tidbit, although I got married to Cam I've not once given him his favorite gift which is indeed Tom Yum Goong. I've given every bachelor his favorite except for Cam because I always shipped all the tomatoes and spinach and remembered when it was fall that I shipped everything before I could make the dish. **_  
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**Now I will just say that the next chapter is my favorite one. I really planned this next one while playing the game and when I was ignoring my friend talking to me lol, it's a basic plot but my favorite type of plot.  
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**Another funny thing I noticed is when the Cooking Festival comes, Have you ever noticed that while Cam says he likes Bluebell's food better almost all of his preferred foods come from Konohana. Not to mention he dislikes almost everything sold in Howard's Cafe... which is Bluebell's food lol!  
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**Review Section:**

**Twin Wavelength: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the story plot. I like flower meanings a lot so this story just came to me.**

**raserres: Thank you! I'm happy that you're so eager to read it! It makes me more motivated to push out the chapters.**

**tashaj4de: Heh thanks again for the loyal reviews! I agree that the best friends thing is common but if the author puts a good spin on the plot, I would read it with no problem. But I'm glad that you enjoy this story.**

**I Luv Cam: Thanks for all the nice reviews! Don't worry when I first started my writing was total trash. It got better but I constantly think it needs improvement you know like "What would make my writing better than yesterday?" So I'm sure your writing will turn out great!**

**harvestmoon4ever: Such a kind review! It makes me smile to see such positive comments. I'm touched that you like the story this much, I hope that my future updates won't let you down!**


	6. Azalea

**So my friends this is the sixth addition to Floral Arrangements. I felt it could use some tweaking but whatevs and enjoy the chapter!  
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_Floral Arrangements_

"_Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.__" — Luther Burbank_

_Azalea- Take care of yourself for me_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was a freezing cold day; a day that would be perfect for the sweetest of hot chocolate and curling up by the fire in a warm blanket. However, Cam hated hot chocolate and he wasn't one for needlessly laying around.

He looked at his watch and sighed. It was 8 in the morning and Cam was bored out of his mind. It was snowing and he barely had any flowers to sell or grow; winter was always the slowest season for him.

He looked at his calendar and smiled. On the date of the fifth, a small smiley face was drawn and in small curly cursive were the words— _Lillian's Birthday_— written in purple. Cam remembered as he showed up on her doorstep with a cheesecake baked to perfection and a can of golden tea leaves.

Her expression was absolutely priceless and he always made sure to remember it when he felt down. He decided that he would visit Lillian and see what she was up to. He walked out of his room and outside of the café.

He instantly shivered from the cold air and almost wanted to walk back inside of the café, but decided against it. He walked down the town intersection and noticed Ash tending to the animals outside. He was going to walk over and say hi, but decided that he really didn't want to speak to him before he went to see Lillian. Cam knew that he was being a bad friend but somehow he didn't care. He never enjoyed the fact that Ash had openly displayed his affection for Lillian and would drop everything once her name was mentioned.

Cam walked right past the barn and towards the town's outskirts where Lillian's farm was located. He turned into her fields and instantly felt bad. He didn't know what he was feeling but he knew it was bad.

The fields were still dry and un- watered and the pasture areas were empty. He walked over toward Lillian's house and he politely knocked on the door—in which there was no response — and then he entered the house.

On her bed, Lillian was still in her pajamas and face as red as a tomato. She was coughing violently and the floor around her was littered with crumpled and presumably used tissue paper. Cam walked over towards Lillian's side next to her pets, Pochi and Tama. She was sweating excessively and her nose was running.

"Are you awake, Lillian?" Cam asked as he brushed her bangs out of her face.

Lillian opened her eyes weakly and stared at Cam. She nodded in response to his previous question.

Cam tenderly put his forearm to the young girl's face and checked her temperature. His arm recoiled from the contact almost immediately. He turned back to her with the utmost concern gracing his face.

She was absolutely burning!

Cam went to the sink, grabbed a towel and filled up a small glass bowl with cool water. He walked back over to Lillian, dipped the cloth in the bowl and gently placed it on her forehead. Lillian's eyes cracked back open and she rolled over to face Cam. Her expression was contorted into one of extreme pain. Cam could feel a dull pounding at his chest — to see the strong young woman that he cherished in so much pain hurt him as well.

"W-water?" Lillian croaked out.

Cam was fast to oblige her wishes. He ran across the room into the kitchen, poured water into a cup and ran quickly back to Lillian. He helped sit her up against the bed's headboard and helped her hold the glass of water as she drank. When she finished the water, she turned to Cam with a thankful expression.

"Lillian, you're obviously in no condition to work." Cam stated.

Lillian shook her head unhappily. "W-what about the fa—"

Lillian never finished her statement as a coughing spell suddenly took over. Cam laid her back down and put his fingers to his lips as a symbol of silence. He looked out at the door and back at Lillian. He looked at her with determination.

"I'll take care of your farm and I won't hear a word of it." Cam said. "You need your rest to get better."

Lillian smiled at Cam. "Um, thank you Cam… You're really great."

Cam turned around and walked out the front door before Lillian could see the blush that made its way to his face. He walked outside and looked around at the farm and realized he didn't have any of the tools and he had no idea of what he was doing. He walked back in the house and looked over at Lillian, who was giggling.

Her delicate finger pointed over to the table. Cam saw the rucksack on the table and picked it up and swung it around his shoulder. He turned back to Lillian and gave her the notepad he spotted on the table and a pen.

"Here Lillian, write down everything that I need to do on the notepad." He held the items out to her. She started to write slowly and a thought popped into Cam's mind.

"Lillian, did you eat this morning?"

He turned around and Lillian shook her head. He sighed and walked over to her storage and opened the chest. He pulled out a bag of rice and walked over to her kitchen. He turned around to see her still writing. He started to boil the rice slowly and walked back over to the storage to grab something else.

Lillian looked up at Cam and smiled. She truly was grateful that he cared to this extent.

When she had finally finished writing in the notepad, Cam came up to her with a steaming bowl of rice porridge and a jar of honey on a tray in his hands. Lillian watched as Cam poured honey in the porridge and stirred it.

Cam looked up at Lillian with a slight blush that crawled from the tip of his nose to the round of his cheeks. He scooped up some porridge in the spoon and blew softly. Lillian's face mirrored his shy expression as she realized what he was doing. He opened his mouth and Lillian followed by opening her mouth. He slowly placed the spoon in her tiny mouth and she closed her lips around the spoon and swallowed the porridge.

Cam pulled the spoon out and continued to feed her; the embarrassment never ebbed from the two. Cam felt fluttery every time the spoon came in contact with her lips. He had done this for Laney a few times but he never felt anything like how he felt doing it for Lillian.

His eyes focused on her pearly pink lips and how rosy and soft they looked in the light. He looked up at the blush that furiously spread across her face and she smiled at him. He wondered if she was feeling the same fluttery feeling like him or if her eyes were focused on him as much as his were on her.

Lillian finished the porridge and Cam placed the bowl aside on her countertop. He took the notepad from her and waved before leaving the house. He stared down at the first task on her list— to let Pochi and Tama graze the animals, with the exception that he led the cows.

Cam turned around to see Lillian's dog and cat run out of the house. He followed the dog in the barn and watched as he herded the sheep but the cows didn't move at all. He dug in her rucksack and found a bell. He rang the bell and the two cows came towards him cautiously. He rang the bell by the door and watched as they left the inside of the barn. He walked over to the feed dispenser and put some of the feed in the feeding bins. He was suddenly grateful for the days Ash made him help him out in Jessica's shop.

He walked out of the barn and noticed the small brown dog waiting by the front of the fence. It looked up at him eagerly and he bent down to rub the small dog on his head. Pochi barked happily and ran around Cam's legs. Cam smiled at the dog and looked over at the chicken coop. Tama was walking around the fence and keeping close to the small white chickens.

Cam saw the next task on the list was to shear the sheep and milk the cows. He dug back in the rucksack and pulled out a pair of shears and the milker. He walked over to the sheep and slowly sheared them. He frowned at the terrible job he did once he finished; the sheep were very patchy and weren't sheared in a smooth pattern. When he went to milk the cows, his hand slipped and cramped many times as he held the milker up to their udders.

He saw the next task was to collect the eggs from the chicken coop and then to water the plants. He ran in the coop and collected the three eggs and pulled out the watering can. He then watered the Bok Choy and the Daikon that was planted in the small fields. He walked back in the house and told Lillian that he had completed the tasks.

Lillian looked at him and laughed. Cam questioned his friend's sudden amusement. She looked at him and beckoned him to come closer. She spoke in a raspy and tired voice.

"Cam, there were more tasks on the back of the paper for the farm on Konohana." She said.

"You have to maintain both farms?" His eyes widened.

She nodded with the amused look never leaving her eyes. Cam nodded and set off to do the tasks.

"Oh Cam!" She called out weakly. "Thanks again for helping me; I don't know what I'd do without you." She smiled

Cam nodded before she had also told him to take the horse across the mountaintop. He walked into the barn and looked up at the large horse. It looked like the steed of an old knight in those stories he had read as a child— powerful, white and majestic. He tried to remember the name of the horse that she rode to his shop so many times.

He patted the horse, which looked at him and suddenly knelt down. He mounted it and grabbed hold of the reins. He moved them slightly and the horse blast off with speed that almost knocked him off of the steed. The air was chillier and almost intolerable as they went further up the mountain. He poorly guided the horse — having never rode one— along the mountain's path. As the tasks went on he had gradually begun to gain huge amounts of respect for Lillian and her field of work. Farming wasn't at all as easy as it seemed— and it wasn't the only thing she did either!

Cam had finally reached Konohana's outskirts and soon into the village. He ran into someone he'd become quite accustomed to.

"Hey dude, what'cha doing on Spirit?"

Cam turned his head to see Kana. He looked at Kana's attire which consisted of the same sleeveless vest, capris and summer shoes. Cam didn't know whether to call Kana brave and strong or extremely stupid. It had to be less than 30 degrees outside!

"I'm doing Lillian's work for her." He noted that her horse's name was Spirit.

He noticed that Kana was also on a horse; it looked larger than Spirit, almost. It was brown and had an especially long mane, it had gentle brown eyes.

"Haha, I see you're glancing appreciatively of Hayate, yeah?" Kana laughed. "She's my best horse, bro, totally in the top."

Cam decided to quickly change the subject. "Hey Kana, Lillian wanted to place an order for a cart remodel."

"Oh, I know which one she's talking about! Tell her it's going to be awesome when I finish…" Kana stared at Cam. "By the way, what's wrong with Lillian? She never asks for help." Kana's face became instantly worried.

"Uh she's got a terrible fever… I was really worried so I offered to do everything for her today." Cam avoided Kana's eyes.

"Oh no way, dude, I gotta help too! Lillian's like my lil' sis."

"No, you should actually go and check up on her. Can you cook?"

"Well yeah, being a bachelor gets pretty tough?" He said. "I'll go over to Bluebell and give her some soup." Kana finished.

Cam nodded and Kana rode off. He turned back around. "Oh and Cam… I'm really happy that Lillian has a guy like you to depend on… You've got Kana's approval."

Cam nodded. He rode off onto the Konohana farmland and dismounted from Spirit and gave the horse a treat from the bag.

He had to chop down the wheat, soybeans and buckwheat from the fields. He pulled out the sickle and got to work. He let his mind wander as he took on the arduous task. He let his mind roam back towards Lillian and how determined he was to finish everything for her so she could rest.

"_Thanks again for helping me; I don't know what I'd do without you…"_

Cam blushed heavily at Lillian's last words before he left. Her words had gained an effect on him more than usual. Lately, almost everything she told him had his heart beating a bit faster than usual and put color on his face. He had never been told something like what Lillian had told him earlier.

She was an amazing person and he always thought so, but he viewed her differently than when he first met her. She always looked prettier, her voice sounded more calming and her visits were always anticipated. No girl had really stood out to him in that way and he was typically annoyed when someone spoke to him as he worked. His new best friend began to rile up new emotions in him that he had never experienced.

She brought out everything in him… including jealousy.

He never noticed if she was aware of the many male admirers that she had gained. Not just Ash, but the other men of Bluebell always spoke about her ranging from her looks, her personality and the more inappropriate topics. He also paid attention to the way the men of Konohana stared at her appreciatively. But he was positive that her friendship with Kana mad it almost impossible for a man to step up to her… after all he was quite intimidating.

He finished chopping all the grains and put them in the rucksack. He mounted back on Spirit and rode into the village square and entered Gombe's seed shop and purchased tea tree seeds. Gombe gave Cam the requested seeds and wished for Lillian to get better. He accepted the requests from the request board and completed some of the ones she'd previously taken. Cam finished everything in Konohana and braced himself for the terrible cold back on the mountaintop.

Cam rode off onto the mountaintop. It was no wonder that Lillian would get sick doing this kind of work by herself day in and day out. He respected her for being so dedicated to the work but he also couldn't help but feel upset that she couldn't take better care of herself. He rode into Bluebell and visited Jessica's store.

"Welcome to Jessica's livestock! Oh hi Cam… where's Lillian?" Cheryl greeted happily.

"She's sick at home, she has a fever. I'm doing her work for her." Cam explained to the girl.

"Oh no, how terrible… I think I know what might make her feel better. My mom taught me this recipe before and it usually helps!" She smiled. "I'll send my big brother over with it later… because I'm still working."

Cam wanted to decline, but he knew Cheryl had grown to adore Lillian almost as much as she adored Ash. He walked up to Jessica and asked for her to give him a chick. Jessica nodded and asked what Lillian wanted to name it. He looked down at the paper and smiled at the name.

"Cheeps." He chuckled.

Jessica laughed. "Lillian sure likes to name her animals some silly names."

She told Cam that Ash would deliver it along with the soup. Cam thanked the two before he left the shop and rode Spirit back onto Lillian's farmland. He noticed that the cows were left outside and that Pochi and Tama had already herded the animals back in. He rang the bell and let the cows go back inside and led Spirit back in the barn. Inside the barn, Spirit was walking with Hayate, letting Cam know that Kana was still here.

Cam walked in the house to see Lillian's face extremely red and Kana laughing loudly. Lillian looked back at the door and spotted Cam. She smiled and greeted him happily.

"Welcome back Cam… Are you tired?" She asked.

Cam walked over and patted her on the head. "Silly, I should be asking you that… Are you feeling better?"

Lillian turned red again but she nodded. "It's all thanks to you Cam."

"Oh thanks Lillian, I can feel the love." Kana teased.

Lillian laughed. "All you did was tease me and brag about Hayate the whole time… but that soup was tasty so thanks."

Kana chuckled and kissed Lillian on the cheek. Lillian pushed Kana away and giggled.

"Gross man, you're just like my brother Phillip." She said rubbing her cheek.

Kana laughed and turned to Cam. "Good job dude, I'm leaving her in your hands."

Kana said goodbye and he left the house. Cam smiled at the horse- obsessed man. He may have had his quirks but he could sense that he truly cared for Lillian's well- being. He turned back to Lillian.

"Are you hungry? It's been sometime since lunch." He smiled.

Lillian nodded. "So did you have fun spending the day in Lillian's shoes?"

Cam grimaced. "You have it pretty rough, Lillian. It's insanely hard work."

Lillian smiled. "Yeah but it feels amazing after I finish all those tasks and wake up to face a fresh day."

Cam laughed before they heard knocking on the door. Soon Ash and Cheryl entered her house with a fresh bowl of steaming hot soup. Cheryl ran over to Lillian, worry showed in her crystal colored eyes.

"Lillian, are you feeling better?" Cheryl asked. "Cam told me you had a really bad fever."

Lillian smiled and patted Cheryl's head. "Thanks for caring Cheryl. I'm getting better!"

Ash walked over and gave Lillian a hug. Lillian accepted the hug and Cam turned away from the affection being displayed. Ash let go and asked Lillian if she was really okay to which she assured him that she was fine.

They didn't stay too long because their mom had told them to give Lillian some rest. They left after 5 minutes and soon it was just Cam and Lillian all over again. Cam noticed that Lillian wasn't eating the milk stew. She kept looking down at it in a daze.

"Lillian, what's wrong… is it too hot?"

"No… I just…" She grew quieter as she spoke.

"What do you need? I'll do it for you." Cam sat beside her.

"Well… I kind of liked it when you… spoon-fed me."

Cam turned a little pink and Lillian did as well. She became flustered.

"I mean you most definitely don't have to—"

Cam took the bowl from her hands and blew the soup on the spoon before opening his mouth and Lillian followed again, repeating the same procedure as that morning. Cam smiled at Lillian's bashful expression and continued until she finished the food. Cam put the bowl in the sink and washed the dishes.

"By the way Cam… your present is in the storage… Happy Winter Thanks—" Soon light snores followed behind her words.

He walked over to the chest and found neatly wrapped heart-shaped chocolate cookies in the unit. He smiled at Lillian. She still made him a present even though she knew he was going to be out on the Monday that the holiday took place.

He walked over to the rucksack and pulled out a bright pink flower that he had gotten from his friend on Monday. He had put it in her rucksack earlier to keep it safe and planned to put it in the vase in her room when he returned. He walked over to Lillian and stared at her cheek.

It was the same peach colored cheek that Kana kissed earlier. He felt a little envious that Kana could do that to her without feeling embarrassed like he would have. He leaned in and took in the fresh scent of her skin and placed his lips against the smooth and rounded flesh before placing the pink flower on the nightstand. His face turned a few shades of red before he took the cookies and whispered something to Lillian as he left her house.

"_Good night Lillian. Please take care of yourself for me… I really like you."_

_Azalea the flower that means "Take care of yourself for me."_

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**So did ya enjoy the chapter? I hope you did! I don't have much of an afterword this time =)  
**

**Review Section****:**

**tashaj4de: Thanks for the review again! I hope Harvest moon is going great for you. I'm planning for the new one: A New Beginning. I'm terribly stuck with who I want to marry in there lol. When you play the game you notice that the villagers don't really dislike each other it's just the two stubborn mayors -_-. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

**NocturnalSky: I'm not upset, I'm always happy to get a review from you! It's nice that you could pick a bachelor. I'm frozen between Amir, Allen and Neil. I mean I went after Amir in Grand Bazaar, but… I guess the battle is really between Allen and Neil first. Rod is pretty cute and Amir's butler too.**

**As for Kana, he has his moments, but I always liked him as a character, since my best friend is practically the girl version of Kana… except it's not horses she's obsessed with. Kana was also who she married, but she almost went for Cam. As for the festivals it sucks that you have to wait to get married to the person before they participate with you regardless of which village.**

**And thanks for the compliment. I have a few more Harvest Moon ToTT stories and one-shots to do. For me ToTT is the first Harvest Moon game where I think the characters (love interest and regular villagers) are really developed in background stories so it makes it easy for me to take their personality and drop it in a plot and create a story that still keeps them in character.**

**sanosaurus: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter; I hope you enjoy this one and then the next one! =D**


	7. Yellow Rose

**Hee! Been quite awhile eh? Sorry 'bout that it's been nearly two months. I've got awesome news and less awesome news. The less awesome news is that this story only has four chapters less. However... well actually there wasn't any awesome news... Sorry 'bout that again but I will make sure this story goes out with a bang before I pick another Lillian x Bachelor couple to write about. It might be Hiro or Kana and it might be a one-shot or chaptered. **_  
_

**But it might be Hiro, because my shota senses have been reacting to him a lot or it might be another villager one-shot like the one I did with Cheryl. Anyway, less blabbing and more storytime!  
**

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_Floral Arrangements_

"_And the heart that is soonest awake to the flowers is always the first to be touch'd by the thorns.__" — Thomas Moore_

_Yellow Rose- Jealousy_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was an odd feeling. It was one that she'd rather not pursue nor admit to having.

Lillian planted her seeds in the limited soil space on Bluebell's farm. Normally, at the end of each season she'd move to the other town. It shocked her to realize that she had not been craving to return to Konohana as much as she wanted to stay in Bluebell with…

_With Cam_.

So she lied to herself and said that it was because she never experienced the spring season in Bluebell. But she noticed the more she stayed in Bluebell the more her negative feelings seemed to swell.

She watered her seeds and put the watering can back in her rucksack. She sighed from exhaustion— she felt mentally exhausted. She walked into her barn put feed in the bin before letting Pochi and her new dog Poppy take care of the barn animals.

Lillian needed a break from everything and a chance to relax. She walked outside and dropped her body on the hay in the grazing area. She stared up at the sky and started to think.

Her feelings towards Cam had started to blossom into something stronger that the initial crush that she seemed to have gained on him in the beginning. But with that, her feelings towards Laney seemed to also change into something nasty.

In the beginning, she wanted nothing more than to become the best of friends with Laney. But as she spent more time in Bluebell she understood that Cam and Laney's relationship was something she'd rather not have seen. Laney coddled him almost all the time and he usually gave into her wishes. Lillian remembered Cam telling her that he only thought of Laney as a younger sister but how long would it take before he could change his mind about her?

Lillian would always notice the sparkle in Laney's eye when Cam was mentioned, the blush under her cheeks when Cam would do something nice for her, and the cold stares that Laney would sometimes throw in Lillian's direction when she was with Cam.

It was obvious Laney felt the same way for Cam as she did.

But did Cam feel that way about Laney— or even Lillian?

Lillian hated feeling that way. She always considered herself simple and friendly. Feeling love and experiencing jealousy was something beyond her comfort levels.

She slowly closed her eyes and let her thoughts swirl in her head. She couldn't be mean to Laney but she wouldn't just hand Cam over to her. She deserved a fair chance at trying to win his affections.

If Cam rejected her— that would be the day she would back off.

"Hey wake up sleepyhead!"

Lillian's eyes snapped open and hovering in her line of vision was Ash. He had his usual friendly smile plastered on his face and Lillian was once again infected by his smile and returned it wholeheartedly.

"Ash, what brings you here? Don't you have work?"

"Lillian it's Wednesday." Ash sighed.

Lillian chuckled and nodded.

Lillian noticed Ash's hands were behind his back and she found herself extremely curious. She craned her neck slowly to the left so not to arouse his suspicion but he inadvertently turned his body to the right as he was speaking to her and obstructed her view. She sighed and craned her neck to the right and once again Ash turned his body to the left. Lillian sighed and decided to go with the direct approach.

"Ash what's behind your back?" Lillian smiled.

Ash laughed. "Well Lillian, since this is your first spring in Bluebell, I'm sure you don't know about Spring Harmony Day—"

Lillian interrupted. "Oh yeah Cam gave me something last year!" She smiled innocently.

She wasn't aware that her statement had upset Ash immensely. Ash decided to brush it off and assumed that Cam did it out of friendship; until he realized something…

"Lillian you were in Konohana last year… How did Cam give it to you?"

"Oh! well he visited me early in the morning to give me the present and explained the tradition to me. I was surprised at first that he came all the way to Konohana for such a thing."

It was then that Ash realized that Cam was also pursuing Lillian's affections. Ash decided that best friend or not, he didn't want to give up Lillian so easily.

"Well I brought you something as well. I hope you like it… I mean seeing as how you're already a master chef."

Lillian giggled and held out her hands. He placed a plate of chocolate donuts in her hands and smiled. She put them in her rucksack and thanked him. She turned around to go and milk her cows when suddenly Ash called out from behind her.

"Hey Lillian, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to…" Ash's voice became extremely soft and his eyes stared at the ground intently.

Lillian rose up from Cream's udders and turned to look back at Ash. She noticed that he looked oddly nervous and his body kept fidgeting all over the place. She shook her head and smiled at his silly behavior.

"Ash, do you want to hang out today?" She smiled. "I would love to repay you for the lovely gift."

Ash's head snapped in her direction and his face slowly broke out into the jolly infectious grin it usually had.

"Totally—" He quickly changed his demeanor. "I mean yeah that would be cool."

Lillian giggled. "Ash you can be really weird sometimes, you know that?"

Ash laughed and sheepishly rubbed his hand behind his head. "Oh yeah, I don't really know much about fashion but that outfit looks great on you!"

Lillian looked down. She donned a simple scarf on her head, a peasant shirt with a vest, a yellow apron and blue jeans with brown boots.

"Oh yeah it's one of the new outfits I got from Nori over in Konohana. It's really cool because it was made for working in and extremely easy to wash!"

Lillian and Ash continued to chat casually as they walked into town.

In the café, Cam was panicking.

He tried every way possible to make something impressive for Lillian but everyone and everything got in the way of him making the present. So many guys were lined up in front of his flower stand making extravagant orders for bouquets and perfumes.

Howard had also asked him to help out as the café was filled to the brim with couples and men asking for chocolate confections of any type— not to mention Laney was extremely clingy today.

It was almost as if something didn't want him to make the present for Lillian. He had to go over to Jessica's ranch and ask for extra supplies for Howard. Laney somehow wiggled her way out of work and ended up accompanying him.

It was such a beautiful spring day out he couldn't possibly stay irritated for long and found himself slowly loosening up and engaging Laney in conversation. They spoke of many things from current events to fond memories of their childhood together. Cam relaxed and smiled a bit more as he walked with Laney.

As they closed in on Jessica's farm, Cam's eyes were greeted with a sight that instantly brought back his initial irritation as well as an extra amount that wasn't there before. Over by the fence leading to the grazing pasture was Ash and Lillian chatting away happily. Ash grabbed Lillian by the waist and lifted her on to the fence. All Cam could hear was Lillian's gleeful giggling and the boiling of his blood in his ears.

He never did like when he felt that way but he couldn't help it. He knew he liked Lillian a bit more than he should have. His mind was filled with thoughts of her even when he wasn't thinking; his eyes lit up whenever he saw her— even if she walked past him to go in the café, and his ears were soothed when he heard her voice.

When he saw Ash always around Lillian, he felt resentment towards Ash. It was a feeling he was ashamed of having. Especially since Ash was his best friend, long before Lillian came into the picture. But Lillian was extremely charming and friendly and drew people to her; but for Cam his attraction for her was heading in a direction that complicated things for him; between his feelings for her and his friendship with Ash.

As he watched Ash flirt with Lillian, he felt himself slowly losing control on his emotions. Laney had told Cam she would be back and went inside to get the supplies from Jessica.

Lillian looked away from Ash for a second and her eyes landed on where Cam was standing. Her eyes met his and she noticed the cold look that he was directing towards Ash. She didn't know why or understand what Ash did to make Cam look at him like that, but decided to wave over to him.

"Cam, come over here silly!"

Cam looked over at Lillian and she saw his features soften a tiny bit but it was still stern. He walked over to Lillian and he coldly greeted Ash. But to Lillian's surprise, Ash greeted Cam just as coldly.

"So what brings you here? It must be busy over by your stand and the café, right?" Lillian smiled.

"Yeah it's pretty hectic over there." Cam replied.

"Well I'm sure you can take a little break?" Lillian sounded hopeful.

"Lillian, I don't think Cam can do that, after all it's Spring Harmony day." Ash laughed insincerely. "A lot of people will want things to give their dates."

Cam rolled his eyes. Lillian's eyes were downcast as she looked to the side. "Oh that's sad, I would have loved to spend the day with you."

Cam swelled inside, especially when he saw the look on Ash's face. "Well maybe I could—"

Cam was interrupted as he heard his name being called. Laney was running towards him with a cheerful smile on her face.

"Cam, the boxes are in the front by the door, let's go!" She chirped.

Laney's eyes met Lillian's and her body went rigid. Lillian noticed that Laney went on defense mode and she didn't want to do something that would result in a fight so she grabbed Ash's hand and decided she wanted to get something to eat.

"What about the café?" Laney asked.

Lillian's eyes widened. "But it's probably very busy in there… and I don't want to distract you guys."

"Oh but I insist Lillian, besides we're having a couples special today and you and Ash look so cute together so you should take advantage of that!"

Ash seemed flattered to hear that and all Lillian could worry about was the stern look that crossed Cam's face again. Ash agreed without a second thought and raced ahead with Lillian into the café.

Laney laughed at Ash's enthusiasm and Cam reluctantly followed them back to the café. Laney was aware that Cam had reciprocated Lillian's affections and she wasn't ready to give him up yet, she knew she wasn't being very fair to Lillian; but she was jealous and jealousy led to a lack of good judgment.

"Those two make quite the cute couple don't they Cam?"

Cam didn't respond but walked straight into the back and into the kitchen to avoid seeing Ash and Lillian act 'friendly' towards each other. He decided what to bake for Lillian and secretly started to work on it.

In the front of the café, Ash and Lillian took a seat near the door. They spoke of many different things and told many jokes as they indulged in chocolate desserts. Lillian couldn't help but to wonder about Cam as he hadn't come out of the kitchen at all.

"So Ash, what was Cam like as a child?"

Ash looked over at Lillian and smiled. "Cam wasn't much different from what he is now. He was quiet, shy and… very sad. It was almost as if he was afraid of getting close to people."

Lillian watched Ash as he spoke. "He was afraid of everyone and it took a long time for Howard and Laney to even get behind his shield. He was really mature for a kid, so he spent a lot of time to himself."

Lillian looked in the direction of the kitchen. Ash spoke again and she heard his tone drop.

"But recently… something's changed him. He's a lot more emotional and open; I believe your friendship with him accomplished that." Ash looked dejected.

"I don't think so; I think it's more him maturing." Lillian blushed. "I can't change people like that, only they can do so themselves."

Ash smiled at Lillian's modesty. "Maybe so Lillian, but you are something special. Don't ever doubt that."

Lillian started twiddling her fingers out of embarrassment— she never did handle compliments very well.

"Ash… have you ever been jealous of someone?"

"Of course I have Lillian. Everyone has experienced some form of envy, we're human." Ash frowned.

"But I feel like such a bad person…" Lillian smiled sadly.

"Lillian, I'm jealous of someone too, as we speak. I feel terrible for being so petty but considering the fact that those are my feelings, I won't hide it."

Lillian's eyes widened. Ash got up and walked over to Lillian and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Almost instantaneously, she felt her hand caress her cheek out of shock.

Ash had kissed her! He had given her a peck on the cheek and she knew that the affection he placed in the kiss was different than the ones Kana gave her. She looked up and met his eyes and in them was a fierce determination. She realized then at that moment what Ash was trying to tell her.

He was jealous… of Cam. He knew how Lillian felt about Cam and he was telling her that he was interested in her… more than a friend would be.

"Ash… I don't think I can…" Lillian looked away from his eyes.

He sighed and smiled before rubbing her head. "I know Lillian; I just wanted to let you know my intentions towards you had been more than friendly. I know how you feel about Cam and that caused some unpleasant feelings to stir inside of me."

Ash walked away from the table and gave Lillian a wink and a smile before walking out of the café. Lillian quickly got up and ran out of the café after Ash, hoping to speak with him more about his confession.

Lillian however wasn't aware of the pair of green eyes that watched their interaction with hurt.

Cam stood there wiping his hands clean of cake batter contemplating the scene that he had witnessed between Lillian and Ash. It wasn't any of his business and it wasn't so much the kiss that upset him but rather watching Lillian's retreating form as she chased after Ash.

He turned back around and went inside the kitchen looking solemnly at the large chocolate cake covered in strawberries and whipped cream. Did it even matter that he had completed the cake for Lillian? She had obviously chosen Ash and Ash obviously displayed his feelings for her, which meant they were together now.

He looked down. Should it have bothered him as much as it did? Shouldn't he have been happy for his two best friends?

But he wasn't and he couldn't be… because he really liked Lillian.

Cam didn't want to admit it but he knew it. He liked her more than just a sister and more than just a friend; and he didn't want to see Ash around her because Ash had the same intentions. But Cam wasn't so assertive. He was never as assertive as Ash and he was afraid of telling Lillian how he felt in fear that she would reject him.

He picked up the cake tray by the handles and walked over to the waste bin. He hesitated to drop the cake in the trash. As he looked down at the cake, he could picture Lillian's smiling face.

He could envision the shocked look on her face when she received the large chocolate cake and the pink of her cheeks becoming more prominent and the big smile and the goofy little giggle that would escape her lips when she took the cake. He also knew she would huff and feign anger that he made her such a big cake and only she could eat it.

All he could see was Lillian.

"Oh Cam, whatever are you going to do with that cake!?" A falsetto rang out and Cam nearly dropped the cake in the bin out of shock.

He turned around exasperatedly to face Howard. Howard stood there with a shocked look on his face and his hands placed on his hips in a feminine manner.

"You most certainly will not throw out such a fine cake in this café!" He huffed in an exaggerated manner.

"This cake isn't that great Howard. It's a failure."

"No it is not. I can see the amount of love and dedication put into each and every layer of that cake!"

Cam placed the cake on the counter before turning his back to Howard and leaning against the wall with slumped shoulders. Howard frowned before walking behind Cam and patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"What's wrong Cam, I know you're upset about something… You are terrible at hiding it."

"Howard… I think I made a mistake… I waited too long to do something." Cam looked down.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about Lillian would you?" Howard smiled.

Cam looked over at Howard. "How did you—"

"Cam, I raised you, I think I can tell when my son is attracted to a woman. Besides Lillian is a popular one so I think I can put together what may have happened."

"I waited too long and now Ash… I felt that I should have just been fair and let Ash have Lillian, but the more I saw them together, I had become slowly jealous and competitive." Cam said unhappily. "I even made this cake for her but after I saw Lillian run out after Ash… I wanted to throw it out."

"Cam you're being unfair towards yourself. Throwing out that cake is like throwing out your feelings for Lillian. Never give up without seeing things through to the end; that is cowardice."

Cam looked over at Howard and nodded before picking up the cake and putting it in a pink box and running out of the kitchen. Howard smiled at the man, knowing that things would work out between them. He knew Cam just needed a gentle push towards the goal.

Lillian sat down by the river, looking lonely and sad.

She folded her knees into her torso as she played with a yellow rose. She had pricked herself several times on its thorns but she barely registered the feeling of the pain.

She had felt awful. She wasn't even aware of Ash's feelings for her and she had led him on only to have to explain to him that she was interested in Cam. She apologized and he accepted but it didn't make her feel better but worse.

She had to deal with the nasty pangs of jealousy and her feelings for Cam.

She continued to play with the rose and smiled bitterly at the irony of knowing what a yellow rose stood for.

She heard footsteps approaching as they rustled the grass and she looked up to find Cam staring at her with his trademark smile. His eyes looked gentle and he held a big pink box in his hands.

"Hi Lillian, been a hectic day." Cam smiled brightly at her.

He walked over to her, sat down and stared straight ahead at the river and watched the butterflies flutter happily and listened to the fish splash in the shallow waters.

He felt at peace with nature and was calmed when Lillian was by his side.

"Lillian… Happy Spring Harmony Day." Cam said sweetly as he slid the box over to her.

Lillian looked up from the rose and at the box. She opened it and her eyes lit up as she took in the size of the large chocolate cake.

Cam baked a whole cake— just for her!

She felt her cheeks become a little warm and she let out a tiny giggle before looking at Cam who watched her with an amused gaze. Lillian soon looked back down at the cake as she let out a little irritated sigh.

"Cam I hope you weren't expecting me to eat this all by myself!"

Cam couldn't help but laugh; he had guessed her reactions spot on.

"Well yeah, I mean I thought of you when I made the cake." He laughed. "I thought of your smile, your eyes and your wonderful laugh."

Cam realized what he said and looked away from Lillian's blushing face. "You meant all of that?"

Cam looked back at Lillian's face. "Yeah… Lillian you mean a lot to me. I mean I really like you."

Lillian looked back down at the cake and contemplated his words. "… Cam… by 'like', do you mean—"

He reached out, hesitantly, to hold her hand. She looked at his face and he gave his sheepish smile.

"Yeah Lillian, I like you more than a friend… But Ash…"

Lillian smiled and shook her head. "No, Ash and I are just friends… Truth be told, I like you back."

Cam's eyes widened and he looked at Lillian with a small amount of skepticism. Almost as if he believed her to be playing a joke on him just to take back her words but she never did.

"I mean I felt really bad, I was jealous of Ash because I assumed that he was your type. I mean he's everything I'm not; cheerful, funny and outgoing."

"Hmm well Cam I don't have a type. But if you want to know what I like now, it would have to be quiet, thoughtful and shy." Lillian smiled.

When they met each other's eyes, an identical pink coated their cheeks and they smiled as they pressed their foreheads together and laughed.

"I was actually pretty jealous of Laney…"

"Huh? That's weird Lillian. I have no feelings for Laney in that sense." Cam looked confused.

Lillian just laughed and pulled away from Cam. She knew he wouldn't understand but she didn't worry about that much, only the fact that they had confessed to each other.

Then suddenly without warning, Cam impulsively closed the distance and gave Lillian the softest and sweetest kiss on the cheek. His lips were soft against the flesh of her cheek and she knew her face had to have been the color of a tomato.

He pulled away and chuckled at the expression and color of her face. She looked absolutely flabbergasted and her mouth was agape as she struggled for words to say to Cam. She looked down at the cake and picked up one of the plastic forks and started eating.

Cam started to eat the cake with her as he picked up the other fork and he smiled the whole time, despite the fact that he actually despised chocolate cake; especially when it was large.

Lillian held Cam's hand and looked down at the yellow rose once more. The flower seemed to have wilted a bit and she felt a bit lighter. The jealousy in her heart wouldn't go away as long as she knew Laney had feelings for Cam, but she would learn to accept it.

It was part of life and just like that rose, eventually it will wilt and die. But until then, Lillian would just learn to be happy with what she had and with the person by her side.

_Yellow rose the flower that means "jealousy."_

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**Not too bad, eh... It could have been written better but this got the lowest mark of good enough for me. I might go back and tweak it cause some parts seem a bit wonky to me. But anyway thanks Tashaj4de for being a loyal reviewer! It brings sparkles to my eyes ^o^! Of course I thank all my other amazing reviewers for the lovely feedback and comments!**_  
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	8. Gardenia

**Okay so let me just sum up why this is so damn late in a nutshell. First I got a job, it was seasonal, the hours were ridiculous and my managers were all so unprofessional save for one, but they didn't keep me which makes me happy but poor at the same time. Then my laptop broke and I had to wait for a new one. Then my artistic spirit died and my motivation was knocked flat so I just played a crapload of video games in a depressed and frustrated state. When I finally got over my slump I left my house to go and treat myself to the piercing I had always wanted and then my artistic spirit came back to me. Finally I put myself in a little corner and pounded away furiously at my keyboard for three days straight and listened to my new favorite singer on ultimate repeat until I mastered the words to his songs despite me not knowing much of anything in Japanese, but whatever, I love him anyway! And then 'BAM!' New chapter just like that. But I hope you guys like this chapter because I shall cry and do this whole thing over if my lovely reviewers (you lovely people) tell me they do not like it.**_  
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_Floral Arrangements_

"_Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.__" — D.H Lawrence_

_Gardenia- I love you in secret…_

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Lillian dressed up in the cutest outfit she owned. Her heart beat rapidly and she had to do all she could to stop herself from giggling all the time. She felt extremely giddy and she could only blame it on the love-bug. Her dog and cat sat in the corner and watched Lillian as she skipped around her house joyously and they let out their barks and mewls at their owner's happy mood.

She walked out of the door and she proceeded to take care of the farm as well as singing a little jingle.

"Hey Lillian, I can hear that awful voice all the way from Hayate's stable." Kana walked onto Lillian's farm.

Lillian turned around to face Kana and rather than get upset and pout at Kana's teasing statement; she greeted him with a large smile and waved at him with gusto. Kana looked at Lillian and he walked over and put his hand on her forehead.

"Lillian, do you have another fever?"

Lillian huffed and smacked Kana's hand off of her forehead and Kana chuckled at her reaction. Lillian pouted and looked up at him with a smile.

"Well if you must know…" Lillian started. "I have a date today."

"A date…?" Kana scratched his chin. "So you and Cam finally confessed to each other, huh?"

Lillian's cheeks turned pink and she shuffled her feet a little. Kana laughed at Lillian's display of shy behavior. He ruffled her hair and started to laugh at her reaction, much to Lillian's disfavor.

"Well— I'm happy that you're happy, but if Cam slips up, he'll be dealing with the mighty Kana." Kana flexed his muscles in a playfully intimidating manner.

Lillian smiled at Kana's goofy behavior and continued to work on the farm while chatting idly about various things and people.

"I think your efforts in the Cooking Contests are truly making a difference, Lil." Kana suddenly said.

"You think so?" Lillian asked Kana as she brushed Spirit.

"Yeah, I think that Rutger and Ina are actually acting civilized to each other at the beginning and end of each contest."

"But, the tunnel still isn't…"

Kana looked down before looking back up at Lillian hopefully. "But Eileen has helped you on many occasions to break down some of the debris in the tunnel, right? Don't get discouraged now dude."

Lillian didn't say much but she knew Kana was right. She just had to keep pushing and soon the tunnel would be cleared and then Bluebell and Konohana would return to the friendly relationship that they once had a long while back.

"Well I guess that's all that's left for me to do for the day…" Lillian suddenly announced.

Kana looked around and gave Lillian the 'thumbs up' sign and a smile and Lillian rolled her eyes. She mounted Spirit and Kana gave an appreciative whistle. Lillian looked down at Kana and gave him a playful glare. Lillian held on to Spirit and he began to strut out of the farm with Kana following her. Once she reached the foot of the mountain she turned back around and gave Kana a small wave; Kana gave her a cheesy smile and waved back. With a verbal command of _'Go Spirit!' _Spirit galloped off with top speed onto the mountain path and Lillian could only feel the wind blowing her hair back and the hot summer sun beating down on her body.

Spirit splashed through the streams and crunched on the grass and Lillian enjoyed the gallop for as long she could before she reached the bottom of the mountain on the Bluebell side. Spirit walked her through the gates and she went past the Church— waving at Alisa and Nathan as she passed— and then stopping by Grady's shop. Outside with the horses, Georgia was grooming her companions and Spirit easily leapt over the fence, garnering Georgia's attention.

"Oh hiya Lillian, need me to watch over Spirit for ya?" She greeted Lillian.

Lillian nodded as she dismounted from Spirit and Georgia walked over to take him. She gave Lillian a glance and began to comment on her clothes.

"That's a mighty fine outfit you got on there. Very pretty, I reckon you tryna impress some lucky fella out here?" Georgia smiled. "Although, I'm sure I know who that lucky fella is… Since you moved here, I gotta say that you're the only person outside the Café he talks about so much."

Lillian blushed and giggled. "I don't know about that Georgia, but it's nice to know he talks about me— in a good way, I mean."

Georgia only laughed as Lillian went off on her way towards the Café. She suddenly felt a little embarrassed and started to fumble with her skirt. The outfit she was wearing was one that she kept for the occasion of outings with friends but she never really changed out of her work clothes or at least the traditional village garb that she got from the mayors in the beginning.

On her fawn colored head was a teal headband with a heart attached to the side. She wore a dark brown jacket with a light brown collar and pocket flaps. Underneath the jacket, she wore a simple white shirt and a light blue miniskirt finished off with indigo thigh high stockings and a pair of teal Mary Janes. She pulled her hair back and up into a high ponytail; instead of wearing it down as usual.

"I hope he likes the outfit…" She mumbled to herself.

Soon the Café and the flower stand came into view. Lillian spotted Cam behind the flower stand and she instantly perked up. He was lying against the stand's surface with the palm of his hand supporting his face. He had a look of frustration on his face and Lillian couldn't help but worry about him. She ran over to him and called out his name. He became startled and started to look around— trying to figure out where Lillian's voice was coming from.

"Cam, how's it going?" She stood in front of him.

Cam looked at Lillian and a small blush adorned his cheeks in a rather adorable fashion. He sighed and frowned while looking off into the distance. Lillian looked at him and she hesitantly put out her hand to stroke the side of his cheek. Cam looked up and the blush returned with a vengeance but he didn't refuse her hand.

"Cam, what has you looking so down?" She asked.

"Business is going so slow… No one seems to be coming by to look at my flowers."

Lillian smiled and took out some gold and asked for a Sunflower. Cam smiled and gave her the Sunflower and then she hooked it on her shirt. Cam gave Lillian a small glance over and he looked at her outfit.

"Lillian, that's a really nice outfit you have on. It makes you look prettier than usual." He scratched the back of his head.

Lillian replied with a shy 'thank you' before walking around the stand and appearing next to Cam.

"Lillian, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Well if business is slow, maybe if we work together we can pick up the business a little." Lillian suggested.

Cam thought about it for a second and then he looked back at Lillian. "Actually that seems like a good idea."

Lillian smiled and went in her rucksack and pulled out her bell and walked around to the front of the stand and started to ring the bell and call out to potential customers in a sing- song voice. The sound of her cheerful—albeit terrible—voice caught the attention of many customers.

"Come and check out Cam's lovely flowers!"

Cam smiled as he watched Lillian parade around and called out energetically to the crowd of people. However, he also noticed that the many guys who passed by were flirting with Lillian and giving her inappropriate glances. He was increasingly becoming angry every time he saw a guy hang all over Lillian.

Lillian turned around from one of the guys to see Cam selling a bouquet to a young woman. On his face was a very scary expression. She chuckled to herself and walked over to him and with her index finger, she lightly touched the area in between his eyebrows and his angry face disappeared.

"Cam don't get upset." She smiled at him. "I'm here with you, let's do our best together."

Cam smiled at Lillian. "You're right, let's work hard together."

Cam began to speak alongside Lillian and the customers started to pour in quickly. A few more hours passed and soon enough Cam seemed to have almost nothing leftover. As he started to clean up, he spotted Rutger walking up to the shop.

"Oh no, I'm not too late am I?"

Lillian looked over at Cam, who shook his head. Lillian turned back to Rutger and smiled happily.

"Of course not, what would you like?"

"Oh Lillian, you're helping out Cam today?" Rutger chuckled. "How sweet and you're dressed up so prettily."

Lillian blushed. "Oh no Rutger, you're too kind."

"I'll take one red Rose." Rutger said to Cam.

Lillian turned around and watched Cam as he looked around for the rose. She smiled gently at the sight of him and she heard a sharp clearing of the throat. When she turned back around, Rutger was flashing a knowing smile at Lillian and she coughed out of embarrassment.

"Ever since you came, Cam's become a lot more animated." Rutger spoke happily.

Cam walked over to hand over the rose and Rutger gave Lillian the gold coins.

"Why I believe it's all thanks to you Lillian, that Cam expresses himself more." Rutger smiled.

Cam looked sheepish. "If you say so, then you may be right."

Rutger smiled. "Ah to be young and in love."

Lillian's face turned a few shades of red and Cam's face matched hers perfectly. Rutger laughed and walked away from them. Lillian and Cam turned to face each other and she smiled at Cam's expression.

"I guess everyone pretty much already knows, huh? Sorry about that…" Cam apologized to Lillian.

Lillian shook her head. "No, that's fine, I don't mind if everyone knows. I'm happy if they do know about us."

Cam gave Lillian a big smile. "Oh you don't mind! That's fine then, I'm glad you're okay with it."

Cam turned to face the Café and then he turned back around to face Lillian. Lillian looked at him with an expression of puzzlement. He began to blush and then he pointed at the Café.

"Um, how about we go into the Café?" Cam smiled.

Lillian smiled. "Of course, I'm rather hungry actually."

"Great, I'll treat you to as much as you like." Cam smiled.

Lillian looked down at Cam's hand and she felt a sudden longing to reach out and hold it. She had wondered where that sudden desire arrived from. She began to stretch her arm out and her hand was only a few inches away from connecting with her target. About a centimeter away from his hand, she suddenly hesitated, and then she retracted her hand and let her arm rest limply against her side.

She didn't have the courage to do it. When it boiled down to Cam, she never had much courage to do anything towards advancing their relationship. It was a little odd, considering how ambitious Lillian usually was when it came to most situations.

Cam pulled out a chair in front of one of the tables and told her that he would be right back. Her eyes followed him all the way to the back of the Café until he disappeared behind the curtain that separated the kitchen from the front of the store. She rested her jaw in the palms of her hands and stared straight ahead and completely sighing as she did. She wondered what Cam thought of her; she knew that he liked her, after all he confessed to the fact. But what she wanted know was what he considered their relationship.

Did he still see her as just a close friend that he admitted to liking? Or maybe he considered her his actual steady girlfriend?

Lillian couldn't tell and it bothered her immensely but she didn't know how to approach the topic. She wanted to consider him as her boyfriend maybe even more but at the same time she didn't want to intimidate him with such serious thoughts.

During the spring season after their confession, literally nothing changed except the fact that they did show more affection. He gave her more hugs and they went out on more dates every chance they got. On the 30th of spring when she moved back to Konohana, he even went as far as to accompany her back to the farm property.

But he never once called her 'his girlfriend' or said those magical words that would have sent her heart pounding. Even outside, he seemed to think that it bothered Lillian to know that others knew about how they felt for each other. Lillian was so deep in thought that she never noticed the pale hand waving in front of her face or the smooth voice calling for her attention. It was only when she slightly turned her head that she noticed Ash in front of her and smiling cheerfully.

"Earth to Lil… Man you sure were spaced out." Ash laughed.

"Oh Ash, hi! How is it going?" Lillian smiled happily at Ash.

"It's going great; I'm just here to make a delivery of supplies to Howard." Ash pointed to some boxes by the door.

Ash took a seat in front of Lillian and Lillian could help but wonder if that would have made Cam a little unhappy to see her conversing freely with Ash after what happened. Lillian cleared her thoughts and figured that Cam wouldn't have really been too bothered by that now and that she was clearly over-thinking the situation.

"So what brings you back to Bluebell?" He asked calmly.

"Oh… I'm on a date—" Lillian clapped her hands to her mouth but it was too late.

Ash laughed, most likely, at Lillian's exaggerated reaction. "Lillian, I kind of suspected something of the sort— you don't really have to act so silly."

Lillian laughed and rubbed the back of her head out of embarrassment. "I guess I did kind of overreact."

The two started laughing and weren't aware of the two green eyes that watched them. Lillian looked to the right and noticed that Cam was standing with two cups of tea in both of his hands. Lillian smiled and Cam smiled back at her. She noticed, however, that Cam did not return the affectionate gesture to Ash and his face was somewhat cold. The part that shocked her a little more was that Ash's face mirrored his expression and it bothered her to see the two of them acting so callous towards each other.

Cam walked over and set the tea down in front of Lillian and he looked at Ash who got up and walked away from the table. Cam sat down and placed the tea in front of him. Ash turned back around and waved to Lillian before grabbing the boxes and taking them one by one into the back. Cam was very quiet for the remainder of the date. He would only answer when Lillian asked him a question directly. Lillian began to regret letting Ash sit with her and chided herself for not following her instinct. A hand came down on the table and Lillian looked up at the person who was putting the plate down on the table.

Lillian felt nauseous and mustered up the best smile she could. "Hi, Laney."

Laney didn't say anything but rather she chose to walk away from them. Lillian knew it must have been hard for Laney to see her and Cam on a date but there wasn't much that Lillian could have really done about that.

Lillian picked up the fork next to her plate and scooped up a piece of the pie. Not really enjoying the tense atmosphere between her and Cam— she looked down at her plate and clenched one of her fists.

"Lillian, after you finish, maybe we can go by the river?"

Lillian looked up at Cam who didn't really look at her when he suggested they go out but she could tell that he was aware of the tension in the Café. Lillian smiled and got up from her chair. Cam looked up at her and she smiled at him gently. He smiled back and rose from his seat and did something that shocked Lillian.

"Let's go." He held out his hand towards Lillian.

Lillian looked down at his stretched out hand and she let her hand rest in the palm of his warm hand and let him lead her out of the Café. She watched as the many villagers around them watched the two of them with curious glances, but Lillian couldn't find it in herself to care. All she focused on was the feeling of Cam's hand holding her hand.

As they reached the river side, they took a seat right by the river and Cam started talk.

"You know, it's been a year already since we first met. I would have never expected the two of us to become this close." He blushed. "It's a great feeling knowing that you're the one by my side right now."

Lillian looked over at him and he turned away. She looked at him longingly and her eyes suddenly landed on his lips and for a short moment, she wondered how he felt… How it would feel to touch them with the tip of her fingers— or rather her own lips?

Suddenly, Lillian and Cam looked up and heard the smallest meow carry in the wind. Cam stretched out his arm and pointed over to a small piece of land that lay in the middle of the river.

"Over there, it's a kitten…" Cam sounded upset.

Lillian knew that Cam loved cats and to see a helpless kitten in the middle of the river obviously made him very unsettled. Lillian walked back a few paces and Cam looked over at her.

"Lillian, are you going to—"

Before he could finish, Lillian began a full on sprint and about an inch before she touched the river, her feet sprang and she became airborne for a few seconds before landing on the other side of the river. She scooped the kitten into her arms and looked back at the river. She couldn't wade through the river and risk making the cat uncomfortable.

"Lillian, can you back up a bit?" Cam called out to her.

Lillian looked over at Cam and she nodded. Holding the kitten in her arms, she backed up and left a good deal of space for Cam to jump over the river and land next to her. Cam rose to his feet and he scooped up Lillian in his arms and Lillian held on the kitten. Cam carefully waded through the water and successfully made it to the other side.

"Next time tell me before you do something that dangerous." Cam sighed.

Lillian apologized for making him worry. "But we have to help out this lost kitten… he has a collar but no address."

Cam turned to Lillian. "We can ask around the shops and see if they know who this cat belongs to."

Lillian nodded. "That's a great idea Cam! Let's go!"

They asked around throughout the town. They started with Rutger and then they worked their way down. When they finally reached Grady's shop, they saw Georgia outside feeding Spirit and Dakota lovingly. Lillian called out to Georgia who turned around and smiled at the couple.

"Hey you two, well don'tcha jus' look adorable together?" Georgia greeted them.

Lillian giggled and Cam looked away from Georgia out of embarrassment. Lillian scooped up the tiny cat and showed him to Georgia.

"Georgia, have you seen this cat before?" Lillian asked. "We found him by the river."

Georgia looked at the cat. "Why I reckon I have seen this lil' fella before; I think he actually belongs to one of our regular customers. I'll call around but on the chance that we don't find the lil' fella's owner… We can take care of him here at the shop."

Lillian and Cam nodded gratefully to Georgia and walked away from the Town Square and towards the Church.

"Lillian, what do we do if we never find the little guy's owner?" Cam sounded a little discouraged.

"Cam, we can't just give up!" Lillian spoke energetically. "I know we'll find the owner… and even if we don't… well we can take care of it together!"

Cam smiled. "You're so right Lillian. You always know what to say! That's exactly why I lo—" Cam abruptly stopped his sentence before he said anymore.

Lillian looked up at Cam with wide eyes. "Cam…"

Before she could ask or even guess at what he wanted to say, she had heard someone calling their names from the distance. When they turned around, they saw Georgia and an elderly woman with a kind face.

The small cat began to run up to the woman and the woman held out her arms. "Nico!"

The small cat meowed happily and leapt into the woman's arms— Cam, Georgia and Lillian all smiled at the scene. The older woman walked up to them and smiled with a look of relief and love on her face.

"Thank you so much for finding my little Nico!" She spoke. "I went shopping with him and he had suddenly wandered off— scared me half to death he did. When Georgia told me about the young couple that found him, all I could think about doing was thanking them and showing my gratitude… but I'm afraid it is rather late and I live a few towns over."

Cam shook his head. "I'm just glad that you two could be together again. I don't know how I'd react if I lost someone as precious to me so suddenly."

The elder woman laughed. "I see you hold your girlfriend in high regards."

Lillian and Cam looked at each other and smiled bashfully before looking away only to entertain Georgia and the older woman.

"Come now Nico, we must get going." Nico meowed in response and followed the woman out of the town.

Georgia looked over at Cam and Lillian and smiled. "Well I gotta get back to my horses, so I'll catch you later Lillian."

Lillian smiled and waved good-bye to Georgia. Cam looked around and sighed and patted Lillian on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry Lillian, I wanted today to be a good date… but it ended up rather eventful."

Lillian smiled at Cam. She realized that she didn't really need to verbally hear what Cam thought of their relationship. She knew that if Cam wanted to do everything he could to impress her then she didn't need any words from him. But she knew one thing that was extremely important and she would let Cam know exactly what she wanted to tell him.

"Oh Lillian look, Rose planted Gardenias by the Church." Cam said happily. "They look lovely don't they?"

Lillian smiled and held Cam's hand. Cam looked down at Lillian and gave her a peck on the cheek and Lillian returned the kiss to his cheek as well. A small wind picked up in the air and the Gardenias seemed to dance in the wind and filled the air with a light aroma.

"They look amazing Cam, they truly do."

_Gardenia the flower that means "I love you in secret."_

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**Yes, this chapter was a success! I think... Well I hope you all enjoyed it! I swear when I get HM A New Beginning, my keyboard will be on fire!  
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**Review Section:**

**LegendarypkmnNyunyu- Thanks for the review. I'm rather harsh on my writing at times but thanks for the encouraging words.**

**MayumiL- Thank you for the review! That's my job to bring squeals and giggles one step at a time to readers everywhere lol. I'm glad you like the story so far!**

**Chantelle/Kojima Yumi- Thank you for all the reviews. Not sure which name you want me to call you by, but I'm glad you enjoy my writing and my story; that totally makes me want to keep writing and hope I get better each time. No matter what Harvest Moon game I play, I have to add a Spring/Winter Harmony day chapter to my stories or a mention of it.**

**Sanosaurus- Thank you for the reviews! I'm glad you still like the story so far. I believe I may do another Lillian and Cam story, because I will admit I am a Cam-addict lol. These last 4 (Well 3 technically, since I just ended this one lol) chapters will definitely go out with a bang!**

**Clannad Fan Girl- Thank you for the review! I'm glad you love the story and I'm sorry this chapter took so long for me to write.**

**Tashaj4de- Thank you for all your reviews! I'm always happy to see a review from you, but yes Laney will be prickly towards Lillian. But your review basically hit the theme that I was going for in the last chapter. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for this update, shame on me lol!**

**XxXxSayuri-chanxXxX- Thank you for the review! I'm always glad to see new reviewers. ToTT is a darn good game you'll get hooked (if you haven't already) I don't particularly think I have much advice for this game; you'll probably breeze right through it. But I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you'll like more of what's to come!**

**harvestmoonluver4164- Thanks for the review! I'm so glad that you liked the chapter and I'm also glad you're a Cam x Lillian fan. It's great to know my story became one of your favorites, I hope you enjoy the future chapters.**


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